Phoenix's Eye: Crowns of Thorns
by Fenghuang0296
Summary: Transported six years into the future and stranded on the other side of the world, the wizards of the Phoenix's Eye Guild have never been in so much trouble. But even if they can get home, new challenges await them. Can they wear a crown made of thorns? Part 2 of the Phoenix's Eye Trilogy.
1. ALO: Adventurers Lost Outside (Time)

Chapter 71: ALO: Adventurers Lost Outside (Time)

About an hour after Sigurd had arrived and told Pierce that they were in the year X791, most of the wizards of Phoenix's Eye had recovered from the after-effects of reinserting the Sempiternal Phoenix into space and time, and all of the awakened wizards were being watched by Sigurd and his squadron of soldiers.

The guard commander in question was currently holding an interview with Pierce in a quiet corner. Pierce had blond hair that hung around his face in an M-shaped frame, warm brown eyes and weathered features. In spite of being just shy of sixteen years old, he looked older, and wore a blue shirt with the Phoenix's Eye symbol, an avian eye encircled by two feathers, printed on the front, in addition to tan shorts and sandals.

"So, let me get this straight," Sigurd frowned, as Pierce had just finished regaling him with the tale of how they had come to be in the present situation.

"You're all part of a Wizarding Guild from Magnolia in Fiore, named Phoenix's Eye, with the exception of those dozen soldier guys from the Alvarez Empire, who you picked up along the way," Sigurd began.

"Right so far," Pierce confirmed.

"Six years ago, in January of the year X784, you were conducting your guild's annual S-Class Trials, in the ancestral home of the Phoenix's Eye guild, a ruined town called Diamauros, when you were attacked by Kairos End, one of the four powerful Dark Guilds that comprise the legendary Balam Alliance in Fiore," Sigurd dryly continued.

"That's correct," the Beast Tamer wizard nodded.

"This Dark Guild, led by a 'Master Eternity', was attacking you in an attempt to take possession of a relic called the 'Sempiternal Phoenix', a powerful artefact that allows someone to travel anywhere in all of space and time," the man continued, "and yet, you and your guildmates somehow defeated all seven of Kairos End's Ends of Days -"

"Actually, we only defeated six of them. One went missing, and we have no idea what happened to them," Pierce briefly corrected him.

The man regarded him with a skeptically raised eyebrow, and slowly nodded. "Uh-huh. Six of the seven Ends of Days, a process in which you lost your left shoe," Pierce cast a glance at his sole remaining sandal and nodded, "before eventually the majority of your guild ganged up together on Master Eternity himself, and were all defeated with contemptuous ease,"

"As much as it pains me to admit that part, yes," Pierce shrugged.

A smile tugged at Sigurd's lips. "Anyway. After that, Eternity grew tired of searching for this 'Sempiternal Phoenix', and used a spell to remotely activate it. However, he didn't realise that the entire town of Diamauros was actually the Sempiternal Phoenix, and, as a result, transported the entire town and everyone in it, including himself and his sole remaining lackey, as well as everyone in your guild who was present at the time -"

"Again, not quite," Pierce interjected. "Two of our guildmates, Sensho and Totomaru, took our airship, the Garuda, and went to get help. They weren't caught by the Sempiternal Phoenix, but didn't return in time to do anything. I hope they're alright," he muttered, concerned for his friends.

"Whatever," Sigurd snorted. "Transported all of you into a void _outside_ of space and time. Once there, you met, _a dragon_ ,"

"Equivaton, the Earth Dragon. Nice guy, for a man-eating monster," Pierce hummed with a smile.

"Sure. And you made an alliance with both this dragon and the two remaining members of Kairos End, and you all worked together to get back into space and time. In the process, you got separated from the dragon -"

"Equivaton," Pierce corrected again. "He prefers it if you use his name. We learnt that the hard way,"

"I'll take your word for it. Anyway, you got separated from 'Equivaton', and Clockwork, the only surviving subordinate of Master Eternity's, decided to betray his master for no apparent reason -"

"I'm sure he had a reason. I just don't know what it is. Er, was," Pierce added.

"Uh-huh. And he sacrificed himself to throw both himself and his master into the time stream at a random location. Shortly afterwards, you and your guildmates, along with the town of Diamauros which is actually this Sempiternal Phoenix, which, I remind myself, is a time machine, also crashed in space and time here, in the year X791, having been separated from your dragon, who ended up somewhere in the future. You, your guild and the Sempiternal Phoenix crashed here,"

Pierce cast a brief glance at the massive, lopsided chunk of ground behind them, covered in half-century-old ruins on the flat part that was supposed to be the top but now hung at a thirty-degree angle, and nodded. "Yep, that's what happened,"

"And this is where me and my men -"

This time, Sigurd was interrupted by an irritated shout from one of his soldiers, who Pierce only needed a brief glance at to see was a woman. "Soldiers," Sigurd corrected himself with a long-suffering expression, "found you,"

"You left out the part where the random intersections of time and space with the Sempiternal Phoenix caused us to snatch up a platoon of soldiers from the Alvarez Empire of the year X784," Pierce added.

Sigurd cocked an eyebrow, and looked over to the group of a dozen or so men, led by a woman, dressed in Alvarez soldier regalia. "I suppose I did," he sniffed. "Alright. Even if the situation that I find all of you in here does match up with this nonsensical story, I still don't believe a word,"

"I am somehow not surprised by that," Pierce shrugged.

"Pierce?" The Beast Tamer wizard glanced over at Sarph, one of his guildmates, a tall, muscular man who wore a leather vest and pants that left his arms bare, along with an array of gold bands and straps to form a sort of stripped-down armour. Normally, the Angel Knight of Phoenix's Eye would have his golden broadsword, the Spell-Shattering Sigil - Solamion, strapped to his back. Unfortunately, the enchanted sword had been destroyed during the fight against Eternity, which - depending on how you looked at it, had been either a mere few hours or around six years ago. "Have you sorted things out with these guys yet?"

"I'm trying, but they won't believe me about the Sempiternal Phoenix," Pierce evenly replied.

"Does that really surprise you?" Sigurd deadpanned.

Meanwhile, one of Pierce's guildmates, Tyria Zechtian, was discussing the situation at hand with another, Alice Gehabich. Tyria was a dark-skinned (African) foreigner with an electric blue ponytail and matching eyes, who liked to wear grey tracksuit pants and a silver singlet. Alice, on the other hand, had long, curly orange hair, soft brown eyes, and wore a yellow dress with a green singlet underneath. "We can't be six years into the future! What about the war?" Tyria demanded, exasperated.

While she certainly considered herself a wizard of the Phoenix's Eye guild, Tyria was actually an agent of the war-torn nation of Electria. She had joined Phoenix's Eye to get by for the sake of her undercover mission in Fiore, which was to safeguard a collection of priceless Electrian artefacts, known as the Electrian Compendium, for the duration of the war between Electria and Alvarez. Time-travelling six years into the future was a bit of an issue - anything could have happened!

"Um . . well, maybe it's over now?" Alice shrugged. She was from Electria too - not natively, but she had citizenship. But . . Tyria was a lot more patriotic than she was.

"Well - we can go back, right? Get everyone back into the Sempiternal Phoenix and travel back to X785?" the Electrian desperately asked.

"Uh . . I'm afraid not," Alice shook her head. "Reentry did serious damage to the control network of the Sempiternal Phoenix. I don't think it's ever going to travel in space _or_ time again,"

Tyria's lips parted in horror, and she was at a loss for words. "No," she mouthed in horror. "Six years . . ."

Sigurd raised an eyebrow. "Good acting, I'll give you that," he complimented them in a very uncomplimentary tone.

"Sir, another one of them's waking up!" one of Sigurd's guards shouted a moment late, and his commander cast the speaker an annoyed glare. "So? They've been doing that every five minutes for the last hour!"

Pierce raised his eyebrows. One of the side effects of returning to conventional space and time with the Sempiternal Phoenix had been what their Guild Master, Master Feng Chriona, had described as the Phoenixes' bodies needing to recover after the strain time travel had put on them, and they had all been knocked unconscious. Pierce had been one of the first to wake up, and because most of his guildmates saw him as a leader figure, he had been elected to take charge.

"Uh, sir, I think you're gonna want to see this?" the soldier continued, and the female warrior Pierce had noted before stepped over, peering at whichever one of his guild mates they were inspecting - and gasped. "Sir, you definitely want to see this!"

"Ugh, fine. You, wait here," Sigurd growled at Pierce, who shrugged and nodded as he strode over to where Pierce's guildmates were being guarded by his people. The Beast Tamer wizard watched, interested, as the man shoved aside the two guards aside - taking note of an irritated look from the woman in the process - and blinked as Sigurd gasped in shock, almost collapsing.

He was further confused when Hare picked herself up, glaring down at him with unusual vehemence.

Hare was another member of the Phoenix's Eye guild, with straight black hair that hung around her neck and harsh, angular features to highlight emerald green eyes. She wore a plain green kimono with yellow trim, and was a skilled martial artist, who fought using Speed Magic and a giant frying pan. She was also reputed for her impatience, antisocial tendencies, mildly sadistic nature, short temper, unhealthy obsessions, tendency to hold grudges . . . Pierce blinked as he thought all this over. Why was he so certain that Hare wasn't secretly evil, again?

Even so, the intensity of Hare's glare at Sigurd was shocking. Veins were bulging in her forehead, her lips were parted, revealing gritted teeth, and her fingers were twitching as though she was on the verge of strangling Sigurd. Pierce raised his eyebrows in amazement. He'd never seen Hare so angry before. Did she and Sigurd somehow have some kind of history together?

Pierce's suspicions were all but confirmed when Hare shrieked, "WHAT THE FLYING FUCK ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE, YOU ASSHOLE?!"

Sigurd, recovering from his moment of surprise, straightened up and smiled at Hare. He had loomed over Pierce, but Hare stood a foot taller than the Tamer and matched him with ease. "Well. I certainly am surprised to see you've returned home," Sigurd offered. "Does that mean you've _reconsidered_?"

"Like hell! And what are you going on about, no way I'd ever come back to . ." Hare trailed off, before wheeling on her heel and turning to Alice. "Oi, smarty pants. You said the Sempiternal Phoenix might end up anywhen or anywhere, right?"

"That's true," Alice slowly nodded. "But why . . ?"

Hare snarled, turning back to Sigurd. "I think I just figured out _where_ ," she snorted. "Care to narrow it down?"

"I see you're buying into this time travel crap," the man hummed in disapproval. "But certainly. We are currently in the Ancient Forest, a ways south of the Sylph side entrance to the Legrue Corridor. I am surprised that you don't know this,"

"Pierce, you did tell this jerk what's what, right?" Hare hollered, spotting the Tamer, and Pierce nodded, shrugging. "I tried, but he didn't believe a word,"

"Well, that figures," Hare snorted, eyeing Sigurd with distaste.

"Are you still mad about what happened ten years ago?" Sigurd asked with an almost sycophantic smile.

"Ten years -? It's been barely four!" Hare snapped, before suddenly realising something. "Wait. Alice?"

"We, ah, skipped forwards six years in time. It's currently X791," the Brawler shrugged helpless.

"Really?" the Speed Wizard cocked an eyebrow, and turned back to Sigurd with a scrutinising glare. "I suppose he does look a bit older. But I thought that was just his ugly nature coming to the surface,"

A vein twitched in the man's neck as he struggled to maintain his composure. " _Ahem_ , lady Hare. I'd still quite like a proper explanation as to what's going -" Sigurd started, but Hare raised her arms and, with a flash of light, a giant dish with a long, leather-encrusted handle materialised in her arms. With a flourish, she leapt into the air and swung it like a golf club, smashing Sigurd in the chest and sending him flying into the air. Phoenixes and guards alike gasped as the commander was sent flying into the distance, and quickly vanished beneath the treeline of the forest surrounding the Sempiternal Phoenix.

"Alright. Who's his second-in-command?" Hare demanded, looking around at the green-clad guards, who all immediately stood to attention as her gaze passed over them.

"That would be me," the blonde woman standing nearby nodded to her, and Hare turned in her direction - and let out a small gasp. "Leafa? Is that you?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," the soldier nodded, a look of dawning amazement on her face.

And then Hare did something that Pierce had rarely, if ever, seen her do. She _smiled_. Not a contemptuous smirk, not an exasperated grimace, not even the soppy false expression she put on to impress Totomaru. She gave the blonde woman before her a genuine, amazed, smile.

"I can't believe it," Hare grinned, looking her up and down, taking in her flowing, green/white robes that covered her upper arms and hung around her legs, as well as the light white armour she wore underneath. "Someone's been moving up in the world,"

"You bet," Leafa grinned.

"Hold on!" Pierce shouted, an incredulous eyebrow raised as he pushed his way through he guards to the two green-clad women. "Hare!"

"Yes?" the wizard questioned, her face instantaneously shifting back to its customary disdainful expression.

"Is this lady your . ." Pierce was so shocked he could barely say the word. _"Friend?"_

"Yeah, she is. So?" his guildmate growled.

Leafa grinned and gently swatted the other woman's head. "Don't tell me you've been keeping me a secret," she teased.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do with Hare?" Pierce demanded.

"Very funny," Hare snorted, looking back at Leafa. "Alright. If we're doing this, we might as well head back to Swilvane. I'm sure Sigurd will catch up eventually, more's the pity," she grimaced, spitting the words. "Pierce, get everyone up and ready to go. Leafa, get these guards organised. If we're doing this, it won't be done by half-measures,"

"You got it," Leafa grinned, turning away.

"Okay, seriously, Hare. What's going on here? Where are we?" Pierce asked, throughly confused.

"We're in Sylph territory. In Alfheim. My home nation," the older woman explained, looking remarkably unhappy about this fact.

"Alfheim?" Sarph spoke up from the watching audience of Phoenix's Eye wizards. "That's the continent to the east of Vestal and Vestroia. It's literally on the other side of the world from Magnolia," he frowned.

"Well, duh. Why else would I go to Magnolia when I wanted to get as far away from this place as possible?" Hare snorted, looking none too happy about the fact that this was where she'd ended up. "Look, I'll explain everything on the way to Swilvane. But right now, we need to get moving. If memory serves, this forest is infested with monsters," she frowned.

Pierce blinked. Now _that_ he understood. "Okay," he nodded, turning to his fellow Phoenixes. "Alright, everyone, we need to get moving. Apparently Hare's got a plan -"

"Really?" Boomer blinked. Boomer was a long-term friend of Pierce's, a stout, portly boy with a black cotton jacket over a white shirt and orange shorts, who had spiky black hair and thick, bushy eyebrows. As a Sound Wizard, he was rarely seen without his oversized boombox.

"I'll need to go fetch the Sonic Boom, then. It's still in the town square in Diamauros. I hope it made it out alright," he worried, turning and dashing back into the lopsided town of ruins. The Sonic Boom was Boomer's personal magic-mobile, a three-wheeled, triangular, white-and-orange vehicle bristling with speakers of varying sizes on every inch of its body. The general consensus amongst the wizards of Phoenix's Eye was that Boomer was a little too attached to his car.

"Alright. Is everyone else fine?" Pierce questioned.

"Eve's still asleep," Alice pointed out, gesturing to the brown-haired Celestial Wizard, whose blue dress was covered in dirt. Eve was known for being mousy and timid, though she had an inner fire. It just . . needed to be coaxed out sometimes. Still, she was capable of using both Celestial and Snow Magic, so Pierce knew there was a lot of talent hidden inside her.

"Not to mention Cubelios," Sarph added, hoisting the purple-haired teenage girl in his arms.

Pierce winced. Just an hour ago, - relative to the chronological order of events as the Phoenixes had experienced them - during their re-entry to time and space, Cubelios, a cursed giant serpent who he had rescued from the dark guild Oracion Och and had been taking care of by official mandate from the Magic Council, had been struck by the time-distorting phenomenon commonly referred to as Real Nightmare. As a result, every spell that had ever been placed on her, from the tortures inflicted by dark wizards to the effects of Pierce's own Beast Taming magic, had been simultaneously broken, returning Cubelios to her pre-curse state. Everyone had been somewhat surprised to discover that the giant serpent had actually originally been human.

"Well, we can't wake them up," Pierce frowned. "Sarph, you carry Cubelios. Lorus, take Eve," he commanded, gesturing to the slender illusionist wizard in his large, blue cloak that trailed to his feet with its black hems and long, hanging sleeves. His face was angular, with a pointed nose and chin, with narrow, close-set eyes set into a face crowned by cerulean hair styled upwards in four spikes. "Of course, the hero would be remiss in his duties if he failed to aid a damsel in distress," he beamed, showing dazzling teeth, and scooped up the unconscious Celestial Wizard.

"Alright. Someone figure out where Master and that Kairos girl went, and as soon as they and Boomer get back, we'll go," Pierce declared.

-[CoT]-

"So, I died," Donna mused, reflecting on the story Master Feng had told her.

"Yes. Fifty-six years ago, the original incarnation of you, Donna Bastion, was killed," the elderly Guild Master of Phoenix's Eye, resplendent in her red martial arts uniform and gaunt face, with piercing eyes and thin lips, crowned by a bush of grey hair, confirmed.

"But then . . how am I here? I don't feel dead," Donna frowned.

"Well, this is only a guess, but our old friend Lycurgus spent the last few decades dabbling in some very strange temporal magic. I think that he discovered a way to create an 'echo' of sorts of a dead person, and that is what he did to you,"

"So, does that make me a clone, of sorts, of the original Donna?" the girl, with her sky-blue hair and tiger skin leotard, questioned, confused.

"I suppose that's one way to put it," Master Feng admitted. "Though, since Real Nightmare restored your memories, I can only assume that the state of quantum flux Eternity placed you in has been undone. Congratulations, old friend, you've come back from the dead,"

"But I remember being ' _Mor_ donna'," Donna murmured to herself. "That persona Eternity gave me after taking away my memories . . he convinced me that I was his daughter. Why would he do that?"

"I doubt it was intentional," Feng mused to herself. "If I had to guess, I would say that your memory loss was an unintended side effect of being reanimated. Lycurgus, of course, was too consumed by grief for the original version of you, so he allowed you to believe that you were his daughter rather than put himself through the pain of having to explain things to you,"

"I guess that makes sense . . wait, oh crap. The whole world knows me as a criminal! I'm gonna have to go into hiding . . live out my days as a hermit . . this is horrible!"

"Relax. There are laws in place for things like this. You can plead coercion and magically induced insanity, and you should be cleared," Master Feng reassured her.

"Oh. Okay, that's good," Donna nodded, taking a deep breath. "In the meantime," Once again, she looked at her tigerskin leotard in distaste. "I desperately need a change of clothes. Did the other version of me seriously _like_ looking like a prostitute? I feel so dirty,"

"Ah, we might have bigger problems at present," Feng replied.

"I suppose you're right," Donna muttered. "We should go rejoin the rest of our guild. Hopefully they've sorted out what's going on,"

"Indeed," Master Feng replied, before pausing. "Wait. 'Our' guild?"

"What?" Donna cast her a playful smile. "Did you honestly think I didn't intend to rejoin Phoenix's Eye?"

-[CoT]-

Within half an hour, everyone had gathered together, and, with Leafa as guide, the large group of people were forging onwards through the forest, and Pierce was catching up Master Feng on what had happened while she was talking to Donna.

"Wait a second. Are you certain about this?" Master Feng questioned, incredulous. _"Hare has a friend?"_

"I can't believe it either, I assure you," Pierce responded.

Feeling she desperately needed a full explanation, the guild master quickened her pace until she was at the front of the group, where Hare and Leafa were walking together. The green-clad guards who apparently answered to Leafa in Sigurd's absence were marching in two long columns on either side of the ragtag group of Phoenixes as an honour guard, though Pierce wasn't sure whether they were there to prevent attacks or escapes.

"Alright, Hare, what exactly is going on here? How do you know these people?" The Guild Master questioned.

Hare immediately cut herself off mid-sentence, and frowned, looking at her. Leafa paused. "Is someone wrong?"

For a moment, the Speed wizard seemed to struggle with something within herself, but sighed. "Ugh, fine. Do you remember what happened when I first joined the guild?"

-[CoT]-

It was a normal day in the Phoenix's Eye guild hall; which in turn was actually a retrofitted and expanded wooden barn with a five-storey stone tower adorning the rear left corner. As it was the middle of winter, at the beginning of the year X781, Master Feng was outside, sweeping snow off the path that led up the hill to the guild hall.

She paused, hearing footsteps crunching in the snow further down the hill, and looked up, expecting it to be one of her brats returning from a job. Instead, though, it was an unfamiliar woman with black hair that looked like it had been crudely cut, possibly her own work, wearing a brown coat and a silver scarf over a green kimono with yellow trim. "Oi, you. This place is a guild, right?"

Master Feng raised her eyebrows. "Why yes, it is," she nodded confirmation.

"Thought so. You recruiting?"

"Always," The Phoenix was, admittedly, rather off-put by the newcomer's tone, but, taking a closer look at her face, she noticed that the woman's teeth were clenched, and pain was etched into the lines of her face.

"Good. You have a new member. Congratulations," she declared, walking past her and towards the guild hall.

"Hold on," This mysterious woman had obviously been through a lot, and Master could recognise that. She needed _something_ , and hopefully Phoenix's Eye could provide. After all, she wouldn't be much of a guild master if she didn't take care of her guild. "If you're going to join, I need to know your name,"

"Hare," she flippantly responded.

Feng blinked. ". . Hare who?"

"Just Hare. I left everything else behind,"

-[CoT]-

"Of course," Master Feng replied. "You told me that you had left behind everything except your first name,"

"That was about a month after I left this place," Hare grudgingly explained.

Feng, Pierce, and everyone else waited with bated breath.

"That's it,"

There was a series of 'thunks' as everyone who had been listening fell to the ground.

Suddenly, Artorias leapt over Pierce and landed next to Hare. He was a slim boy, only a couple of years older than Pierce, with a shock of blood-red hair. His body was swarthed by a large cloak that was white at the shoulders and slowly faded into red as it reached his feet. Artorias was known with some renown as the strongest male wizard of the Phoenix's Eye guild, second only to Faraday (whose overwhelming power was without equal) and Master Feng herself, and also the youngest S-Class wizard in the guild, titles he held partly due to his practising the rare technique of Blood Magic. However, he was of mild temperament, soft-spoken, and rarely allowed himself to become unsettled.

"With all due respect," he softly told Hare, "That's bullshit,"

"Yeah. You might as well tell them the rest, Hare. They'll find out when we get to Swilvane anyway," Leafa folded her arms in impatience.

"Ugh, fine," the Speed Wizard snorted. "Remember that Sigurd guy?"

"Who could forget?" Pierce muttered.

"He's my ex-fiancé,"

Everyone stopped dead at this. _"WHAT?"_

"Wait, so all the time you spent running around after Totomaru, you had a husband?" Boomer questioned.

"Don't be stupid. I said we were engaged. I left him at the altar," Hare huffed.

"Wait. No way that Sigurd guy was younger than forty. Even with the time travel, that's one hell of an age difference," Pierce frowned.

"Don't remind me," the Speed wizard growled.

"Hold on. Exactly how old _are_ you, Hare?" Boomer asked.

"Yeah. I don't think she's ever told us," Grace mused. Grace was Pierce's adoptive younger sister, a thirteen-year-old with straight, grass-green hair that hung around her shoulders and down her back, who usually wore a yellow dress with grey lace and sandals like her brother's. Earlier in life, she had been a test subject experimented on by a dark guild called Crypt's Spawn, working under orders of Brain of the Oracion Och. They had implanted several lacrimas inside her body, including an artificial dragon lacrima, which had been coded with a mixture of two kinds of Lost Magic; the Arc of Space and Dragon Slayer, which in turn had caused her to become the Reality Dragon Slayer. However, Pierce, along with Sarph and Hare, had rescued her during a job, and somehow Pierce had ended up taking custody of her. It hadn't taken long for Grace to think of Pierce as an older brother, and in return, he considered her his sister.

"I'm twenty-one," Hare reluctantly admitted.

Boomer, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to take some revenge for the horrors Hare enjoyed inflicting on him, mock gasped from within the cockpit of the Sonic Boom, which was trailing at the rear of the party. "So old!"

"Shut it, you little twerp!" the woman barked.

"And Sigurd is currently forty-two," Leafa weighed in, a scowl on her face.

"So, a fifteen-year gap at the time? And this was in X781 . . he was twice as old as you!" Pierce exclaimed. "Why would he want to marry someone so young?"

"Not important," Hare huffed. "Obviously, I didn't want to go through with it. So I left. I wanted to get as far away as possible, so I found the geographical other side of the world,"

"Magnolia," Artorias guessed.

"Actually, no. It was the middle of the ocean. But Magnolia was the closest place, so I went there. The rest is history," Hare snorted.

"That's still not the whole story, though, is it?" the Blood wizard folded his arms.

"Bite me," Hare hissed.

The conversation hit a lull, and Master Feng took the opportunity to give the guild a brief run-down of the situation with Donna.

"So, she's good," Alice asserted.

"Another reformed villain? How wondrous. We shall form an Axis of Rejecting Evil!" Lorus melodramatically declared.

"You . . do that," Eve, who had woken up, nodded.

-[CoT]-

A little while later, Pierce slowed his pace to keep up with Tyria, and regarded the Electrian with concern. "Hey," he softly murmured, reaching out and placing an arm on the girl's shoulder.

Tyria didn't shy away, but didn't lean in to the contact. Instead, she turned baleful blue eyes on the Tamer. "Six years," she muttered. No matter what she did, her thoughts kept returning to the time that they had lost six years. "Anything could have happened back home. Everyone could be dead," she muttered.

"I don't believe that," Pierce immediately rejected the idea. "Headmaster Atsphuria is one of the most powerful wizards I've ever met. He wouldn't get killed just because he's fighting a war,"

"Yeah. But he was getting old," Tyria sighed, clearly still worried. She paused, feeling Pierce's arm snake around her neck, to her other shoulder, as he pulled her closer to him. The Tamer didn't have anything he could say to make her feel better, so he held her close, promising with his embrace that he would support her.

The time jump was harder for her than him; most of the people he cared about had been brought with them. As long as the Phoenix's Eye guild hall still stood back in Magnolia, and his house had been left untouched, he would be content. But Tyria had an entire country full of people that she felt responsible for; whose fates were bound up in her guardianship of the Electrian Compendium. A duty she had failed at for six years.

"Everything's going to turn out alright," he murmured, and Tyria weakly nodded. She looked at him, hazel eyes meeting brown, and smiled. "Well," she raised her eyebrows, revealing teeth in her parted lips that Pierce had always considered to be dental divinity. "I know one thing will be," And with that she pushed herself up the inches of difference in height between them and gave Pierce a quick kiss on the cheek, before contentedly resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.

A faint flush crept across the boy's cheeks, and his smile widened.

-[CoT]-

"Oh, wow," Lync gasped, beholding the city of Swilvane.

It was incredible; a massive array of buildings scattered across a vast plain a few kilometres from the edge of the Ancient Forest, and five massive towers arranged in a cross dominated the skyline, with each of the four corners adorned by a second tower that was half the size. Each of the nine towers was connected by an assortment of bridges and walkways, and the entire city shone in the afternoon sunlight.

"It's beautiful," Tyria murmured as they continued to approach.

"And it looks like quite the commotion's going on at the gates," Sarph observed, covering his eyes with his hands and squinting at the border of the city, where it seemed a large crowd was gathered.

As they walked the last few kilometres leading to the city, the crowd's purpose became more apparent. The first telling factor was that it was around two-thirds comprised of mature men. The second was that several people were waving banners; mostly white or green with phrases such as 'LONG LIVE THE PRINCESS', 'WELCOME HOME PRINCESS', and there was even a 'I LOVE YOU PRINCESS'.

"They all seem very excited about some princess," Artorias offered.

"Indeed they do," Sarph hummed, eyeing Hare thoughtfully, who was clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.

By now, they were close enough to pick out individual faces. Most of them were plain and unremarkable, though there was an odd prevalence of hair coloured shades of green. However, one man at the head of the crowd was unmistakeable, and Hare, Pierce and Leafa alike frowned as they saw him.

"Welcome home, _Princess Hare_ ," Sigurd offered them all the most unpleasant smile as he uttered the damning words.

Hare looked thunderous.

 _-[CoT]-_

 _"Welcome, to Doctor Kit's Documentaries on Phoenix's Eye!"_

 _Kit, a small white fox with red markings running from his ears to his eyes and from his eyes to his snout, and a red tip to his white tail, grinned at the camera, standing in front of a blackboard._

 _"Hello, everybody! I'm Kit, the loveable, adorable -"_

 _"Egotistical!" came a voice from off-screen._

 _Kit growled to himself, before continuing, "Yokai who is_ supposed _to act as Pierce's partner. Unfortunately, I don't get anywhere near as much screentime as I rightfully should," he muttered irritably. "Honestly. First chapter of the new story and I'm not even in it!"_

 _"Anyway. Doctor Kit's Documentaries, a Phoenix's Eye peripheral to Professor Happy's Class about Fairy Tail, is a segment that gets added to some chapters to provide exposition and explanation for things that would simply clog up the main chapters if the author tried to work it in as part of the story," Kit summarised, tapping the blackboard. "Today, we have two topics of discussion; recapping the purpose of the Documentaries, and explaining how Fenghuang0296 is working around one of the major plot holes surrounding the time-skip in Fairy Tail canon!"_

 _"Everyone knows that the story of Fairy Tail prior to the Tenroe Island arc occurs in the year X784, right? However, based on the author's timelining, Lucy first joins the guild around May or June of X784. Edolas happened around Christmas, which can be inferred due to the fact that there was snow in Magnolia at the beginning of that arc. Which means that the S-Class Trials could only have happened at some point in January or February, in X785,"_

 _"However, it's stated in-universe that Fairy Shield was active for seven years, and deposited the main characters in the year X791. I'm sure everyone can see the mistake in the maths there," Kit continued, tapping numbers on the board that counted from 785 to 791._

 _"Luckily, there's a simple solution. All we have to do is say that Fairy Shield only lasted six years," Kit grinned. "And, therefore, the time-travelling shenanigans involved in the Sempiternal Phoenix happen to coincide with the corrected Fairy Shield effect. And the heroes of both Fairy Tail and Phoenix's Eye have therefore travelled into the future and ended up in late January of the year X791. Make sense?"_

 _"I sure hope it does, anyway, because that's all for now, on DK's Ds!"_

 _A/N_

 **A/N**

 **And there we have it! Chapter 71, the first chapter of the second Phoenix's Eye story!**

 **The first story arc this time around is the 'Princess of Lies' arc, a character arc for Hare. And, if you're not familiar with the Sword Art Online franchise, I've invoked some heavy elements from that franchise this time around, officially marking the third occasion in which this Fairy Tail story has crossed over into another franchise. Of course, it won't be the last.**

 **Also, the poll that I set up for the popularity of original characters introduced in "The Guild Next Door" has finished, and . .** ** _only nine people voted?_**

 **I really thought I had a bigger readership than that . . . :( Anyway, the most popular, by an overwhelming margin, was . . . Kit! And I assure you, that was one hell of a surprise. Second place was a two-way tie between Pierce and Grace, and third place went to Tyria!**

 **Meanwhile, fourth was a three-way tie between . . Eishaj (whew, haven't thought about that guy in months.), Crystal (one of Pierce's beasts, if you need the refresher) and Pierce Kynigós. I'm sure the two people who voted for him will be happy when Apocrypha goes live, but more on that next chapter!**

 **Getting back to the actual story, I do hope everyone's going to enjoy what I have planned. It's going to be spectacular. :) Peace!**


	2. Hare, Princess of the Sylphs

Chapter 72: Hare, Princess of the Sylphs

"You are an asshole," Hare hissed at Sigurd.

"Is that any way for a princess to talk to her subjects?" the man asked with a sickly sweet smile.

"Clear the road. Me and my friends are going to the castle. And you aren't getting in my way," Hare declared.

"By all means, I wouldn't have anything else. I've already organised a _parade_ , actually,"

Pierce couldn't remember ever seeing Hare look so dumbfounded. She spluttered, horrified at the implications.

And then she span around and addressed the Phoenixes and guards. "Change of plans. We're using the back entrance,"

"There's a back entrance?" Sarph blinked.

"Yeah. It's about a thousand feet tall and directly to your left," Hare huffed, gesturing to one of the large towers on the city corners.

-[CoT]-

Leafa had dispatched her guards to escort the Alvarez soldiers to the city prison, leading the Phoenixes alone to the tower.

"Would it kill you to install an elevator?" Boomer panted as they finally reached the seventieth floor of the ninety-floor-tall building.

"Oh, quit being a baby," Leafa snorted at him, folding her arms.

"We had to leave my car in a _community parking lot_. I reserve the right to be irritated," Boomer irritatedly snorted.

"Oh yeah?" Pierce irritably raised his naked left foot. "You're not the guy who walked all the way here with _only one shoe_ ,"

"Well, you can shut up now, because this is our floor," Hare flippantly informed him, leading the group of Phoenixes out of the stairwell and towards a corridor, suspended high above the city and made mostly of green-tinted glass that seemed to stretch on into infinity.

"You're kidding," the Sound wizard moaned.

"I still can't believe she's a princess," Artorias muttered to Master Feng.

"I can. She always acted like one," the Guild Master retorted. There was also the fact that she'd used her mental magic to read Hare's mind when they'd first met and thus had known about this situation all along, but her brats didn't need to know that.

"Shush. There are more important things at hand now," Pierce told them as the subject of their conversation led them into one of the many massive, tubular bridges connecting the five main towers of the city to each other and other parts of the city. Based on the direction this one led in, it went straight to the central cone.

"Yeah. Like the fact that we're actually standing in a real life palace!" Grace squealed, looking around in excitement. "I mean, I thought there'd be more pink. But this is still great

!"

Pierce smiled affectionately. Grace was already a teenager, only a little under three years younger than him, but, other than a few experiences scattered here and there, she only had six months' worth of memories. Everything before that had been blocked from her mind by Master Feng for the sake of her own sanity. One of the effects of this was that Grace sometimes acted as though she were five or six younger than she was.

The conversation lapsed.

"So, Hare. How's life been for you?" Leafa asked.

Hare raised her eyebrows, mulled over her response, and finally admitted, "It's nice. I like being a part of Phoenix's Eye,"

"You do?" Master Feng blinked in surprise.

"Of course I do, dumbass. You think I'd stick around if I didn't?" Hare demanded, folding her arms and glaring at the Guild Master.

"Well, it's just . . you always act like you hate everyone and everything," Feng pointed out.

"Just because I hate all of you doesn't mean I don't like you," Hare huffed.

Pierce blinked. "What the hell kind of sense does that make?"

"Yeah. You can't hate _and_ like something," Tyria agreed, casting a quick glance at Pierce to see how he felt about her backing him up. He seemed alright with it. _Yes_.

"This is Alfheim. 'Sense' is relative," Hare snorted.

". . What?" Artorias asked, raising a blood-red eyebrow.

Leafa turned on her heel and effortlessly started walking backwards to face the Phoenixes. "Strange things happen in Alfheim, in ways that they don't in other countries," she started.

"Oh?" With a wave of his hand, Sarph opened a golden screen of Archive magic, and started keying into it.

"For one thing, monsters have a habit of crawling out of the woodwork. They just appear all over the place, and no one knows where they come from," the Sylph guard pointed out.

"Spawned monsters. Yes," Sarph nodded. "Apparently, sometimes, strange items can be found after they've been killed, too,"

"Yeah. And don't ask me how that's supposed to work," Leafa shrugged. "I mean, it makes sense that, if you kill a frog monster, it drops frog legs. But I just don't get why, if you kill a giant snake, a dagger might appear out of nowhere,"

"It's a curious phenomenon, to be sure," Sarph agreed.

Pierce frowned and decided to stay out of it. He didn't know much about the continent of Alfheim, but he knew that they had a major monster problem - more than any other region in the world, except Vestroia. And that was just because, in Vestroia, the monsters were intelligent, sentient, civilised beings. However, as a Beast Tamer wizard, he rankled at the idea of killing creatures who only fought humans because their instincts told them to.

"And then there's Yggdrasil," Leafa added.

"Yegg. . what?" Grace blinked.

"The World Tree. It's an absolutely huge tree in the centre of Alfheim. Under its roots is the city of Alne, which is a mixed-race city where all nine of the nations in Alfheim can meet as equals," Leafa explained.

"Nine nations?" Tyria asked.

"There are nine different tribes of people who live in Alfheim, Tyria," Sarph explained. "These people, the Sylph faction? They're just one of the nine groups,"

"Ah," the Electrian nodded.

"Anyway," Hare snorted, as the corridor came to an end and they arrived in the central tower of the city. "Welcome to Castle Sylph. Or whatever they're calling it these days,"

"Cool," Grace beamed.

"Come on, all of you. I suppose I should go take you to see my mother," Hare sighed, leading them towards a staircase.

Boomer blinked. "Um, Hare? Are we still on the seventieth floor?"

"Yes,"

"And what floor are we going to find your mother on?"

"If she's in the throne room, the third. If she's in her offices, the eightieth," Hare shrugged.

"Can we sort out which one of those we're going to before we take any more stairs?" Boomer requested.

"Ugh, fine," Hare sighed, and blurred away in a burst of Speed magic.

Leafa gasped, surprised. "What was that?"

". . . Speed magic?" Sarph frowned.

"That was magic?" the blonde blinked. "But - there was no chant. No words,"

"What chant?" Pierce blinked.

"Oh - are you talking about Alfheimic magic?" Alice suddenly questioned, pushing forwards through the group and looking eager.

"Well, yes . . what other kind is there?" Leafa frowned.

"Well, there's Ishgarian magic," the orangette pointed out, manifesting a single Amaterasu Formula magic circle in her hand, before letting it dissipate. "Electrian magic," she gestured to Tyria and Lync, further back in the crowd, "and I've heard that there's even more kinds, but haven't seen any examples,"

"How did you do that?" Leafa frowned, looking at her hand in confusion.

Alice frowned. "Don't tell me you don't know how ethernano works,"

"No, no," Sarph interjected. "It's an odd phenomenon, but in Alfheim, Alfheimic magic is almost exclusively practiced. It's completely possible Leafa's never seen any other kinds of magic,"

"Nope," the guard weighed in, shaking her head. "So there's really other kinds of magic?"

But it was just then that Hare blurred back in, looking a little less irritated than usual. "Alright, good news, chubby. Mother dear is up in her office. So," she gestured to the stairs a little way down the corridor. "Only ten floors up,"

"I'll take it over sixty-seven!" Boomer declared, striding forwards.

"We'll have to finish this later," Sarph shrugged at the two women, striding forwards.

-[CoT]-

"Nice doors," Pierce observed.

"Meh. I never liked them much," Hare shrugged, striding forwards and shoving through the green entrance, inlaid with gold lace. "Mother!" the Phoenixes heard her shout.

Leafa and the seventeen Phoenixes paused as the doors swung shut behind her.

"Should we go in?" Pierce asked, looking at Leafa, who shrugged.

The door swung open and Hare's head emerged. "Oi, all of you! Get in here!" she shouted.

"Alright, everyone, you heard her," Pierce declared, leading the way into the office.

"You got it, team leader," Sarph grinned, following behind him.

As they entered, the office proved to be large, and spacious, with a massive arched window dominating the left wall. Across from the door, framed by a pair of tall bookshelves, sat an oaken desk with an ornate chair, in which rested a tall woman. The woman had long hair like Hare's, but more curved and hanging even further down around her body. Her clothes were similar too, grass green with matching yellow trim, but had more layers and were more ornate, and came adorned with a mantle in a darker green hung over her left shoulder.

"Ah, so these must be your friends, Hare," she commended, regarding the group with a tight-lipped smile.

"A pleasure to meet you," Pierce dropped into a quick formal vow.

"Everyone, this is my mother. Lady Sakuya," Hare snorted.

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," Sakuya smiled at the wizards. "I'm so happy to finally meet the people who have taken such good care of my daughter in her absence,"

She paused. "May I ask what happened to your shoe?"

"Please don't," Pierce sighed.

Boomer blinked. "Was Hare adopted, by any chance?" he quietly muttered to Sarph. "Because no one this nice could be related to her,"

"I'll try to take that as a compliment," Sakuya smiled. "And I see that you haven't changed either, Hare," Her smile dimmed a little, becoming somewhat weary, as she turned to look at her daughter, who was standing off to the side of the room.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Sakuya," Master Feng stepped forwards, and bowed her head respectfully.

"And I yours, Master Feng Chriona," the Sylph ruler replied.

"I'm flattered that you know of me," the Guild Master commented with a smile.

"Of course," Sakuya nodded.

A knocking at the door alerted the group that someone else was present, and the people at the rear of the gang cleared a space for the doors to open.

Sakuya sighed, looking downcast for a moment. "Sterben? Is that you?" she questioned.

"Yes, milady. I have the latest stack of paperwork for you to work through," an answering voice came, and Sakuya reluctantly nodded. "Very well. Come in," she allowed.

The door swung open, and a tall, muscled man with chiselled features and slicked-back, somewhat greasy hair entered, carrying a pile of papers. "The merchant's guild is complaining about the Slime Essence shortage, and - oh. My apologies, I didn't realise you were entertaining guests," he blinked, taking in the large group of people. "Princess Hare?" he blinked in amazement. "I had heard the rumours, but didn't place any stock in them,"

"Yeah. I'm back. And I'm leaving first chance," Hare huffed.

"Well, this can be done later, of course," Sterben shrugged, pausing between Wesley and Lync.

"No, no. Bring it here," Sakuya sighed. "The kingdom won't wait, after all,"

"Too true, milady," the secretary nodded, stepping forwards to her desk.

"But, please. Shuffle the complaints about Slime Essences to the bottom of the pile," Sakuya weakly smiled, and Sterben nodded, scooping several papers from the top and placing them at the bottom of the stack, before dropping the pile on her desk.

"Is that all?" Sakuya asked, and the man nodded, before turning to leave.

"Anyway," the queen exhaled, standing up to make sure her face wasn't obscured by the mound of paperwork.

"What's all that?" Grace piped up, confused, and Sakuya shot her a weak smile. "All the strings attached to ruling a nation, even a small one,"

"Yikes," Tyria breathed. "And that's just from today?"

"That's just from this morning," the Sylph corrected her. "Anyway. I heard the story about how you got here from Sigurd, and, unlike him, I believe you. Has it really only been four years for you?" she asked, addressing the question to Hare.

"Yeah," the princess muttered.

"Well, that explains why I haven't heard anything from you since X784," Sakuya nodded to herself. "I take it your objective is going to be returning to Fiore?"

"That is the plan, yes," Master Feng confirmed. "I do have some idea of how to go about that, though. You wouldn't happen to have a transponder snail that I could use, would you?"

"A what?" Tyria blinked.

"I believe that can be arranged, yes. Ask Sterben about it," Sakuya nodded. "I'm sure that I can also arrange accommodations for you all in the palace,"

"So, master, you have a plan?" Pierce questioned.

"Yes, I do. I know a couple of old friends who I can call for help. Hopefully they'll still be around in this year," Feng muttered.

Sakuya nodded. "Sterben should also be able to organise temporary quarters for all of you. Tell him that I requested it and he'll get it done,"

"Of course," Master Feng agreed. "Thank you, Lady Sakuya,"

"Anything for my daughter's friends," Sakuya smiled, before turning back to her paperwork.

Hare huffed, and Sarph frowned. "Hare. Your mother's being extremely generous, you could show some gratitude,"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm used to that from my daughter," Sakuya shrugged it off.

"Well, what do you expect?" Hare snorted. "Thanks for everything, _Lady Sakuya_. But don't think this changes anything,"

And, with that, Hare wheeled on her heel and sped, Speed Magic up and running, out of the room.

The Phoenixes and Leafa watched her go. "What was that about?" Alice wondered.

"A mistake that I have long regretted," Sakuya sighed, rubbing her temples. "I suppose I should get started on this," she gestured to the paperwork. "You all can go,"

The Phoenixes exchanged glances, and Pierce nodded. "Alright, everyone. Let's go find a place to kip,"

The group began to exit, filing out through the large double doors, and as they did, Sakuya glanced down at the article on top of the pile of papers demanding her attention.

She blinked. "Wait," she called, looking up at the Phoenixes, who paused.

"Yeah?" Pierce asked.

Sakuya raised her eyebrows hopefully. "You're all skilled fighters, yes?"

"Well, I don't like to brag," Tyria tried to act self-conscious, but couldn't help preening a little.

"Yeah we are," Grace nodded, smiling.

"That's good," the queen smiled. "I don't suppose any of you would mind doing me a small favour?"

"What do you have in mind?" Pierce asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know that monsters appear a lot more often in Alfheim than they do in most other parts of the world, of course," Sakuya began. "Well, sometimes monsters that are unusually large and powerful appear and start causing trouble. They often pose a menace for travellers and peasants, therefore whenever they show up, I and the other leaders of the factions that rule Alfheim make a point of eliminating them as quickly as possible. We like to call them 'boss' monsters,"

The Phoenixes' eyes brightened. They were starting to see where this was going.

"One of these 'bosses' has appeared in a nearby place called the Valley of Butterflies. Squads from the local guilds are, of course, preparing to combat it, but they're a party short and have sent me a request to send some warriors from the army to join them. Unfortunately, I can't do that, because tensions between the Sylphs and the Salamanders are running high and I need as many men as I can get guarding the border. If you wouldn't mind, though, I'd like it if some of you would join the raid on the boss. It's a profitable endeavour, and it's very likely that the boss will drop some good loot when it's defeated," Sakuya explained, a plaintive expression on her face.

Pierce read between the lines and understood what Sakuya was really saying. _'I'm in a bit of a jam here, and I'm already helping you out, so could you please do me a solid in return?'_

He was on board with that, but didn't want to make the decision without input from his guildmates. "Well? Who's in?"

Tyria, Boomer, Sarph and Grace grinned, the latter even throwing in a thumbs up. Fleur whistled to get everyone's attention, and nodded.

"I should probably pass," Alice muttered. She wasn't very good at fighting.

"I'm in," Lync grinned.

"Wouldn't miss it," Artorias bowed his head; the epitome of enthusiasm for the soft-spoken S-Class.

"And me, too," Donna piped up.

The others cast her curious glances, and she shrugged. "I want to be part of the guild again. And this sounds like a good way to make a start on that,"

"Wonderful," Sakuya smiled. "I'll have the armoury equip you with proper combat wear. I'm sure we have enough spare armour for all of you,"

"A change of clothes? Now I'm definitely in," Donna grinned.

"Maybe they'll have a sword," Sarph muttered.

-[CoT]-

"Is this true?" a hooded man asked. "The Sylph princess has returned?"

"Yes, Prince. We might be able to exact our old plan once again," a man in a skull mask that had glowing red eyes replied.

"Are you sure about that, XaXa? The princess is still the rebellious bitch she's always been. What makes you think she won't just run away to the other side of the world again?" a third man, wearing a crude leather mask with eyeholes cut out of it, folded his arms.

"Oh, Johnny. It's quite simple. Now, the princess has friends. And that is a weakness," Red-Eyed XaXa smirked.

"I see," Johnny Black nodded, a similar expression playing under his mask. "Well then," he snorted in dry amusement. "That certainly changes things,"

Prince of Hell smiled. "True. As long as we don't overplay our hand, we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain," He chuckled, a deep noise echoing from his throat. "It's showtime,"

 _-[CoT]-_

 _"Welcome, one and all, to DK's Ds on P's E!" Kit chorused with a frown. "I would like to note that this is the second sequential chapter that I have played no part in," he muttered, irritated._

 _"I wouldn't let you near Sakuya with a thirty-foot pole!" came the answering holler from the director._

 _"I can tell," Kit groused. "Anyway. Today, I'll be talking about the author's plan for how the Sword Art Online canon intersects with Fairy Tail!"_

 _He flipped the blackboard, revealing a crude map of the world. From left to right, there were six continents; Alfheim to the far left, Vestral next to it with Vestroia directly to the south, Fiore in the centre, the Alvarez Empire to the east of Fiore, with the landmass of Electria sticking out from the top of it to the west, and a long, thin continent stretching from north to south marked 'The Red Line' on the far right. "Much like what was done with the previous Bakugan crossovers in this story, the lack of world building outside Fiore and Alvarez has been taken advantage of, and the author has added the continent of Alfheim, as it exists within the VRMMORPG ALfheim Online, to the world as a landmass!"_

 _"That's not to say that the entire story actually exists inside a VRMMO or anything, though. In this version, Alfheim is real and the characters that people like Kazuto and Suguha play in the game, Kirito and Leafa, are also real people. Maybe we'll see some of them in the near future," the yokai winked._

 _"However, the author is only partially drawing upon the canon storylines involved in Sword Art Online for the Princess of Lies arc and beyond. Rather, he's taking the variables and characters and putting them together in new ways to create an original plot that is inspired by and similar to, but fundamentally different than, the normal plotlines of the story. For example, obviously in canon Sakuya has no children. But here, she does. So, let's hope that it all comes off!"_

 _"That's all today. See you next time, on DK's Ds!"_

 _A/N_

 **A/N**

 **Oh, this is gonna be fun. Boss battle! And an appearance change for the heroes - which is inspired by the fact that all the Fairies got new clothes after the time-skip; therefore obviously the Phoenixes need to be pumped up with magic gear from the land of Alfheim!**

 **But enough about that. I have an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. Next week, this story will not be updated!**

 **Are you scared?**

 **Good, I've had my laugh. XD Instead, the first chapter of the new spin-off story will be posted! Its name is "Phoenix's Eye: Apocrypha", and it will run parallel to the main story - every third week, Apocrypha will be updated instead of Crowns of Thorns.**

 **Now, what will it be about? I'm sure you all remember that, when the Sempiternal Phoenix crash-landed, Pierce Kynigós and Equivaton, the Earth Dragon got separated from the rest of Phoenix's Eye. The Apocrypha storyline will follow the adventures of these two renegades as they survive horrifying ordeals, dangerous encounters with mysterious new characters and the most lethal threats of all; each other! So make sure you're following my account, so that you'll see what happens when Phoenix's Eye stops being Phoenix's Eye.**

 **Peace!**


	3. Sweet Threads

Chapter 73: Sweet Threads

"Whoa," Boomer grinned as Team Pierce (minus Hare plus Lync plus Artorias plus Donna plus Fleur), entered the castle armoury on the tenth floor. Although, it would be more accurate to say that the castle armoury _was_ the tenth floor; it took up the entire storey.

The part they found themselves in wasn't large, but every inch of the available wall space was taken up by cupboards. Hat racks and shoe racks, along with a few benches and a particularly conspicuous armour rack carrying a set of green and gold knight's armour, formed a maze of debris.

"Oh, hello there!" a voice spoke from somewhere in the room, and Pierce looked around in surprise, not seeing anyone.

And then what he had taken for an armour stand moved, stepping forwards, reaching upwards and opening its faceplate to reveal the face of a mature woman. "So, you're the visitors Lady Sakuya wants me to kit out, eh? Well, this should be interesting,"

"Tell me you have a good coat," Lync stepped forwards, offering his singed and destroyed Vexos coat.

She blanched. "That looks bad - but never fear, we'll replace it," the woman nodded, pointing finger guns at him. "Well, I'm Fiona, and I run the armoury here in Swilvane. And I hear that the nine of you all need Alfheim-grade combat gear,"

"Alfheim-grade?" Pierce questioned.

"Oh, yes. Alfheimic fashion is reputed as being among the best in the world. There isn't any other nation that's quite as good at enchanting clothing as we are," Fiona bragged, folding her armoured arms. "And this is an extra treat for me, because you lot aren't Sylphs!"

"Why does that matter?" Tyria asked.

"Because Sylphs usually wear mainly green, and I get so tired of working in just one colour. But you lot? I only see one person who looks at all like green would suit him. This is going to be an absolute treat!" Fiona beamed. "You, come with me! I'll attend to each of you individually," she beamed, gesturing to Pierce.

"Alright," Pierce nodded, and followed Fiona through a door.

"Now then," As soon as they were in the other room, Fiona bustled over and swept open a cupboard. "How do you feel about this one?" she asked, holding up a yellow shirt.

"Too bright," Pierce shook his head.

"Alright, maybe this?" Fiona asked, displaying a black coat covered with buckles.

"Do those buckles even do anything?" Pierce blinked.

"Fine, let's start with the pants,"

-{ _One Makeover Later . . ._ }-

 ** _Reference Picture: Pierce (the shirt is inaccurate, it should be blue with the Phoenix's Eye symbol):_** ** _. /pin/206884176607505906/_**

"Wow," Tyria blinked as Pierce emerged, grinning at his new outfit.

His blue shirt with the Phoenix's Eye logo remained, but it was now covered by a sleek, orange jacket that looked like it was made of leather. It had been partnered with slim black jeans, held up by a dark brown belt, which ended in upturned cuffs, exposing the red inner lining. His sole remaining sandal had vanished, replaced by a pair of solid black boots with orange trim. "I look good," Pierce grinned, twirling and letting his coat flap around in midair.

"That jacket's a pretty little piece called the «Flame-Licked Parka». The pants are «Charcoal Trousers», and the boots «Ember Walkers»,"

Pierce blinked. "I'm kind of seeing a theme there," he commented, raising an eyebrow.

"You told me you had a phoenix partner, I ran with it. Besides, it's all fireproof, and the boots and pants are enchanted to increase your speed, while the jacket strengthens your mana reserves," Fiona shrugged.

"Oh, well, that's cool," Pierce grinned, looking impressed. "So, what does the belt do?"

"Holds your pants up. Now! You!" Fiona gestured at Tyria, but Donna interjected. "No. Please. I am so _terribly_ sick of this thing," she irritatedly gestured to Mordonna's tigerskin leotard.

"Alright," Fiona nodded, and Donna followed her into one of the other rooms.

A few moments later, they heard her shout, "The whole point is that I _don't_ look like a hooker! I refuse to dress like some pinup poster girl!"

"But these outfits are literally designed to _look good_!" Fiona shouted back.

-{ _One Makeover Later . . ._ }-

 ** _Reference Picture: Donna (PERFECT PERFECT YAY IT EVEN LOOKS LIKE HER!):_** ** _. /pin/693906255057419227/_**

Finally, Donna emerged, dressed in far more than she had been wearing before and holding her old leotard at arm's length. "Do me a favour and burn this," she tossed the garment at Pierce, who nervously caught it.

Donna's lithe frame was now swaddled in a long, white robe that drooped around her sleeves and hung from her waist like a massive dress, adorned with blue trim and covered with swirling blue patterns. Even her head was adorned with a matching tricorn hat, which in turn bore a blue crystal set into a silver frame. Under her cloak was a short skirt and long stockings that covered almost her entire legs, along with knee-high white boots with a vertical blue stripe spurning down each one. A golden staff with a design that looked like a phoenix head was slung over her back, with a thick blue jewel set into it as the eye. Her Celestial Keyring was now hooked around the phoenix's beak.

"Cool," Grace grinned.

"It looks nice, huh?" Donna grinned. "You should have seen what she tried to force me into before,"

"Yes, I think I'd like that," Artorias muttered.

"I'm so glad you're enjoying the «Skyborne Swarths» and «Cloudwalker Boots», giving you boosts to speed and mana reserves. I've also thrown in a «Crystal Eye Cap» for good measure. I'm not sure the defence boost it provides will be must help, but if it's what you want then that's fine, and I have to admit it looks fetch," the seamstress beamed. "But . . are you sure about that staff? It doesn't match at all,"

"You told me it was called the «Phoenix Eye Rod». As if I'd pass up something like that," Donna snorted, and the Sylph nodded, accepting this.

"Now, for real this time!" Fiona declared, grabbing Tyria's arm and pulling her into one of the other rooms.

-{ _One More Makeover Later . . ._ }-

 ** _Tyria (the model's_** ** _ethnicity is wrong and the sword and gr_** ** _e_** ** _en neckerchief shouldn't be there, but otherwise it's so perfect!):_** **_._**

When she emerged, Tyria looked completely different.

Her silver singlet had been replaced by a pale yellow shirt that hugged her figure, and a gleaming blue corset was wrapped around her waist and hung most of the way to her knees. She had also donned a form-fitting coat that was white on the shoulders and rolled-up sleeves with a yellow stripe, but from the hips down was ocean blue with a single white stripe, and hung around her knees, ending in a white frill. Her knees were bare, and she was wearing tall, black riding boots with straps around her heels.

Pierce's mouth formed a small 'o' as he took in her new attire. "Does anyone have a tissue?" he quietly asked, rubbing at his face to hide the nosebleed that was rapidly generating there.

"Oh, no no no!" Fiona pulled a rag out of nowhere and rushed at Pierce. "I am not having you get blood on a brand new coat!"

"You look awesome!" Grace squealed, doing her best to avoid her embarrassing brother.

"You think?" Tyria beamed, quickly checking her ponytail and patting down her corset. "It's a little itchy, but," she paused, looking at the way Pierce had reacted. "So worth it!" she muttered in elation.

"Yep. That right there is a top-of-the line «Sunrise Cloak», paired with a perfectly matched «Daybreak Corset», both giving you boosts to magic and strength," Fiona beamed, before casting a glance that was a mixture of irritation and fondness at her boots. "Unfortunately, I didn't have any matching boots. But if you want to pack raw STR, then you can't go wrong with a pair of «Obsidian Soles»,"

"Well, I like them all the same. These boots were made for stomping!" Tyria beamed, tapping her foot and revelling in the satisfying 'clunk' noise.

"Too true!" Fiona grinned. "Now, you! Chubby cheeks! Let's see if we can put you in something a bit more slimming," she winked, dragging Boomer away.

"Whaddya mean, chubby? I'm not fat!" Boomer protested.

-{ _Another Makeover Later . . ._ }-

 ** _Reference Picture: Boomer (the teal parts should be white - also note Boomer's chubbier than this guy.):_** ** _. /pin/316800155010604841/_**

When Boomer emerged, it was hard to recognise him. "Check out these threads!"

His white shirt had been replaced by a black one with white lines that looked like circuits running across it, with a black sleeveless vest left open at the chest with silver strips running down the shoulders and under his arms, with two long, silver ribbons hanging down from his back. A set of black trousers that looked similar to Pierce's covered the shorter boy's legs, held up by a silver belt, and sneakers that matched his shirt were partly hidden under them. However, pearl-coloured metal gauntlets were attached to his forearms and thighs, with ridges along them.

"That looks sick," Pierce grinned. "Though I'm not sold on those ribbon things,"

"Can I get something like that? Like, matching my Gauntlet?" Lync eagerly asked, matching the Tamer's expression.

"It doesn't match the Sonic Boom . . but I've been considering giving her a new coat anyway," Boomer grinned.

"Yep. What you have there is a full set of «Magic Circuit Vestments», «Magic Circuit Leggings» and «Magic Circuit Boots»," Fiona explained. "All specced to give significant bonuses to your magic power. I've also slapped on a set of «Pearl Gauntlets» and «Pearl Greaves» for extra defensive power. I'll accept that you don't want the shield, but are you certain you won't take the «Pearl Helmet»?" she asked, raising a rounded helmet that gleamed with a white sheen and had a built-in yellow-tinted visor.

Boomer hummed, and shrugged. "Eh, why not? I can use it as a racing helmet when I drive," he nodded, accepting the «Pearl Helmet». He knew better than to ask about the belt.

"Splendid. Now, for a challenge. I'm thinking you!" Fiona squealed, scooping up Grace and pulling her into the other room.

-{ _One Little Makeover Later . . ._ }-

 ** _Reference Picture: Grace (the colours are wrong, it should be yellow and grey):_** ** _. /pin/362399101243804822/?autologin=true_**

Grace emerged, preening like a swan. "That's so cute," Pierce beamed at his sister, who giggled and span to show off.

She was wearing a lacy yellow frock with a short grey dress hanging out from underneath, and frilly grey sleeves with yellow and gold hems on the bare shoulders and sleeves. Two long ribbons hung, protruding, from her back, like drooping wings. Her feet were adorned with yellow boots that had gold trim, and her green hair was held in place by a yellow-and-gold veil.

Fleur hummed and nodded, thinking she looked beautiful.

"I'm not sold on the headdress," Grace mused, feeling the object on her head.

"But that's the «Starswept Veil». It provides major boosts to your attacking power and mana pool. Plus, it perfectly complements the «Dragonwing Dress». And those «Fairyfoot Boots» are so doll with their speed bonus!" Fiona cheered.

"That's cool," Grace nodded, beaming.

"Now, now. Your turn, green boy," Fiona winked at Lync, who nodded and followed her into the other room.

-{ _Aww, That Poor Coat . . ._ }-

 ** _Reference Picture: Lync (Totally perfect!): . /pin/561964859727202468/_**

When Lync returned, he looked disgruntled.

His aged and chipped Vexos ceremonial armour had been stripped away, replaced by a green blazer that opened onto a white singlet. Elbow-length dark green gloves coated his lower arms, and a small sheath was strapped to the jacket, containing a dagger. His chest had been left bare, and tight green shorts with a crisscrossing golden pattern on them were held up by an ornate gold belt. Thin, leather shoes covered his feet.

The boy was holding the remains of his beloved coat in one hand and a long scarf in the other. "Are you sure you can't fix it?"

"Well, I could give it a shot . . but wouldn't you rather have the «Flying Scarf»?" the armoured questioned.

"No! I want my coat!" Lync retorted, placing his hands on his hips.

"But it's enchanted for +5 speed," Fiona wheedled, trying to wear him down.

"Yeah? Well this coat was enchanted for +5 awesomeness! I want it back!" Lync snapped, pulling his Vexos coat back on over his new get-up.

"Well -" Fiona grabbed the scarf and coat, stuffed the latter into her armour and wrapped the former around Lync's neck. "Alright, I'll try to fix it. But you, mister, have to wear that scarf!"

Lync sighed, but didn't protest, feeling a little silly with the two long sleeves hanging down his back.

"Anyway, I'm thinking that you should be up next," the seamstress gestured to Artorias, who nodded and stepped forwards; Fiona immediately pulled him into the other room.

-{ _Yet Another Makeover Later . . ._ }-

 ** _Reference Picture: Artorias: . /pin/AYFiXwS0vaw9DdD5fX5tiVUw4zzw1kTyQkg8zvu_J4-lUam930n51JU/_**

Artorias returned, and Sarph hummed thoughtfully. "Not bad. I'm kind of getting a samurai vibe," he commented, eyeing the baggy red shirt that left his chest bare currently coating Artorias' frame and hanging from his supple arms. White bandages were wrapped around his forearms and stomach, and inflated black shorts with intricate white designs like waves coated his upper legs, while hugging his lower legs, along with thin, light sandals. "I was actually going for a ronin look, but that's fine,"

"Wait," Lync interjected. "Is that a sword?" he blinked in surprise, looking at a weapon hitched to Artorias' belt.

"Close, but not quite," the boy commented with a smile tugging at his lips, drawing the weapon with a flourish. A magic circle appeared around the hilt as it was revealed to be a long pole with several holes running along its length, and suddenly blood flared from the weapon, condensing into a hefty, liquid warhammer. Artorias smiled, hefting the new weapon, and the blood coating it reformed, forming a sharp edge and changing the weapon into a sword. He twisted the grip again, and the blade elongated and warped into an axe.

"Whoa," Grace grinned.

"I'll admit, I didn't expect that. The «Sleepless Dream» is supposed to be used with sand," Fiona frowned thoughtfully. "But, I suppose that blood works too," she did her best to keep a shiver out of her voice. "Anyway. The «Desert Footstep» sandals both fit the ronin aesthetic and give you a rather nifty boost to speed, while the «Stained Heart Leggings» and «Bloodsoaked Tunic» both give you hefty boosts to the strength of your attack power. Finally, I've thrown in a nice «Lapis Pauldron» for extra defensive power, but, are you sure you only want the one?"

"Yes. If I had another one of these on my right shoulder it would restrict my arm movement, and that might be a problem in a fight. But this way it works just fine for sufficient defence and mobility," Fiona nodded, accepting the explanation. "Hmm. Bloodsoaked?" Artorias mused a moment later, sheathing the «Sleepless Dream» and inspecting the garb. As he did, he spotted Fiona don an uncomfortable expression. "Is something the matter?"

"Not really, just . . that shirt has a bit of a history to it," the armourer replied. "The girl who brought it here told me it had been a drop from some kind of monster who was inhabiting a deserted hut halfway up a mountain. There was some creepy story behind it, too . . I don't remember it, though. Point is, I'll be glad to see it go, if you're sure you want it. Just keep in mind that I haven't quite confirmed it isn't cursed,"

Artorias hummed over this, fingering the «Bloodsoaked Tunic» thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll get Alice to check it over,"

"Well, enjoy. Only two left," Fiona smirked, fixing on Fleur. "Now, for you,"

Fleur nodded, following Fiona into the other room and smiling, excited.

-{. . . . . . .}-

 ** _Fleur: . /pin/712553972264932264/_**

When the mute witch emerged, she looked stunning.

A navy blue shawl, decorated with flowery gold designs and with a split down the middle was wrapped around her neck, and hung behind her like a pair of capes. Black leather gauntlets coated her forearms and extended to fingerless gloves, and a low-cut white top covered her midriff while exposing cleavage, paired with a navy blue short skirt which was held in place by a pair of leather buckles, and similarly coloured leggings that coated her knees down to her feet, all with matching designs of gold trim. Her familiar silver Petal Magic rapier was still strapped to her hip by one of the buckles on her skirt, though.

"If only Totomaru was here, huh?" Boomer sniggered.

"Nice threads," Tyria grinned.

"Threads?" Sarph sniggered, and the Electrian grimaced. "I've spent too much time with Boomer,"

Fleur nodded, grinning.

"I'm pretty sure that's one of the outfits I rejected because it was too revealing," Donna muttered, but everyone ignored her.

"That's the Goldleaf Ensemble, consisting of the «Goldleaf Shawl», «Goldleaf Gloves», «Goldleaf Dress» and the -"

"Let me guess. «Goldleaf Boots»," Lync pointed out.

Fiona snorted. "Actually, it's «Goldleaf Leggings»," she muttered. "Anyway, they all boost speed and magic power. It's a shame that we don't have any swords that are compatible with your Petal Magic,"

Fleur shrugged, brushing it off, and affectionately patted her rapier.

"Fair enough," Fiona shrugged. "And, last but not least, you! Big guy!" she grinned, pointing at Sarph.

-{ _One Last Makeover Later . . ._ }-

 ** _Sarph (I wanted_** ** _something different, but saw this and thought 'SO C_** ** _OOL CHANGE NOTHING' - wildly inaccurate model, though):_** ** _. /pin/489977634446970473/_**

In the other room, it didn't take Sarph long to find an armour that he liked the look of and don it.

His wide frame was enveloped by a white cloak, with gold trim and several jewels set into the shoulders, and golden armour coated his arms with highlights like the night sky. His stomach was bare, with golden protrusions like ribs wrapping around his waist, and his pelvis was wrapped in golden armour with two large gold protrusions hanging from his hips. Two long wraps hung around his legs like a toga, mostly white but with inlays of gold and dark blue, and he wore sandals similar to the ones Pierce had recently lost.

"So, you like the «Golden Arms» and «Solar Robe»?" Fiona smiled, gesturing to his chest armour and the robes around his legs. "They do suit you. But I'm kind of surprised that you wanted those «Slipstream Drivers», those are specced to boost speed, especially in flight,"

"Can't complain about that," Sarph commented, materialising his Aera wings. He gripped one of the two «Slipstream Drivers» and held it upwards, channeling his magic energy into it to test out this 'speed boost'.

Instead, a bust of golden energy shot out of it, narrowly missing Fiona and scorching a singe mark into the wall. Sarph grinned. He hadn't pegged them for laser cannons, but he'd take them. "I'll take it,"

Fiona was hardly even bothered by the near miss, instead seeming enamoured with his wings. "Holy - _are those Alf wings_?"

"Uh . . no. It's Aera," the knight corrected her, and the armourer nodded, seeming disappointed. "Oh. That weird Fiorean stuff. I thought only cats could use it?"

"It's borrowed," Sarph pointed out.

"Makes sense," Fiona shrugged. "Well, I guess that's it, then,"

"Actually, not quite," the Phoenix cautioned her, gesturing to the empty sheath on his beaten-up old armour. "Do you have any swords?"

The armourer's eyes lit up, and she nodded. "One handed or two?"

"Two," Sarph responded, and Fiona nodded, leading him towards another door.

Before long, they were in a room filled with swords of several shapes and sizes. "Anything catch your fancy?" the woman questioned, and Sarph looked around. Several, actually. But none of them looked right . . none of them looked to be the equal of the one he'd lost.

"What does this one do?" the angelic knight asked, grasping a two-edged claymore with an orange blade and a silver helix pattern set into it.

"That's the «Flashy Wake». Pretty standard, as swords go, though there's a lot of potential for upgrades," Fiona shrugged. "If you want it, go for it,"

"I suppose it'll do. Maybe I can get it enchanted with Wave magic," the knight muses, sheathing the weapon.

-[CoT]-

When Sarph returned, it didn't escape anyone's notice that the «Flashy Wake» bore a remarkable resemblance to the Spell-Shattering Sigil - Solamion, the sword Sarph had lost either yesterday or six years ago. Depending on which timeline events were viewed in light of. But no one said anything, all knowing that the angel needed time to grieve.

"You look good," Tyria finally offered.

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, I believe Sterben is arranging a transport for us," Sarph rumbled, and Pierce nodded. "He said meet him on the ground floor,"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Grace excitedly beamed. "I feel ready to rumble!"

-[CoT]-

Upon their arrival a few hours later in the Valley of the Butterflies, the Phoenixes spotted a group of what looked like about twenty people with a mixture of ethnicities between them. A couple of people were prominent among them; three tall men who seemed to be in charge, and Pierce made for them, his guildmates in tow.

"Ah!" the shortest of the three men, a stocky redhead with a large sword strapped over his back and samurai-like armour, exclaimed. "You lot must be the reinforcements Sakuya dispatched!"

"That's us," Pierce called back, striding up to him. "Name's Pierce, and we're a detachment from the Fiorean guild Phoenix's Eye. You?"

"Klein. Good to have you, man," Klein grinned at him, shaking his hand. "I'm head of the Fuurinkazan guild,"

"You're a guild master?" Pierce raised his eyebrows in amazement. Klein couldn't have been older than thirty. "You must be good,"

"He isn't," the second of the three men chuckled, a tall man with long blue hair dresses in blue and grey armour. "I'm Diavel. I'm happy to see you. I'm here to take charge of all the strays and bounty hunters that raids like this attract," he explained.

"Nice to meet you," Pierce nodded, before casting a glance at the third 'leader', who was standing apart.

Diavel followed his gaze, and frowned. "Hey. Heathcliff! Come over and meet the stragglers!"

The man turned, and Pierce saw that he was wearing red armour with white trim that left his head of flat grey hair naked. He was carrying a heavy white shield and a long broadsword.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Heathcliff rumbled. "I was just trying to get a good look at the boss,"

He turned to Pierce, and smiled. "It's a pleasure. My name is Heathcliff, and I am the leader of the Knights of the Blood,"

Evidently, Heathcliff expected that to mean something to Pierce, because he seemed disappointed by his lack of reaction, but didn't say anything.

Luckily, he didn't have to, as Sarph hissed "Pierce!" from behind him.

"Yeah?" the Tamer turned and asked.

"The Knights of the Blood is one of the two massive guilds that encompass all of Alfheim!" Sarph hissed, looking excited. "And that guy, Heathcliff, is their Guild Master!"

"Wow," Pierce muttered, nodding. Two major guilds that dominated the balance of power in Alfheim? And Heathcliff ruled one? He had to be powerful, both magically and politically.

"Yeah! He's probably one of the most powerful warriors on the continent, and definitely one of the greatest swordsmen of all time! His sword, Liberator, is one of the 12 Saijo O Wazamono Swords! If he lived in Fiore, he'd be a shoo-in for the title of Wizard Saint!" Sarph continued. "Do you think he'd give me his autograph?"

"Why, certainly," Suddenly, Heathcliff was there, smiling at the burly man. "So, my legend has spread all the way around the world. I'm happy to hear that," he smiled, producing a pen from a compartment in his armour. Sarph looked hopelessly excited as he offered a piece of paper, and Heathcliff signed it. "I do hope this will be an interesting battle," the Knight mused, returning to the leader's spot.

"So, Pierce. I take it you're foreign. How much do you know about raids like this?" Diavel asked.

"Not much," the Tamer admitted. ". . Basically nothing,"

"Right. Well, the first thing you should know is that, in raid structures, there are four major classes that everyone fits into; melee DPS, ranged DPS, tanks, and support," Diavel explained.

"DPS?" Pierce blinked.

"Damage per second. Basically, hitting the enemy," Klein explained, fingering the hilt of his sword.

"A standard group consists of two tanks, two melee DPS, and one support Mage, plus as many ranged DPS as possible. Though more than three is frowned upon," Diavel continued. "Of course, this structure can be changed and varied, depending on the objective and what's available. How do your people stack up in that?"

"Hmm," Pierce turned and surveyed his team. Sarph was definitely a tank. Boomer probably fit that role too, with his Sonic Shield. Tyria? Melee DPS for sure. Lync probably constituted ranged DPS; he had a greater focus on ranged attacks than Tyria. Fleur certainly seemed like melee DPS, though she had some ranged applications too - hey.

"Is there such a thing as mixed DPS? Like, able to do both melee and ranged?" Pierce asked, and Diavel nodded. "Certainly, though they would usually focus on one or the other for purposes of the fight,"

"Great," Pierce nodded, returning to it. Fleur was mixed DPS, Artorias was melee. Grace, probably melee. He didn't know enough about Donna to say one way or another, but probably support as she was a Celestial Wizard. As for himself, his Beast Tamer would probably constitute support, though if he used Take Overs, that would make him melee DPS.

"Okay. Two tanks, three melee DPS, one mixed, one ranged. One support, and . . I'm not sure if I count as melee DPS or support," he explained.

"Can you heal?" Klein asked, Pierce blinked, and shook his head. "Then you're melee DPS,"

"Wait - but healing is lost magic. _No one_ can use healing magic," the Tamer frowned.

"Maybe in Fiore. But loads of people can manage it here," Diavel smiled, before his brow furrowed. "So, your support can't actually heal, then?"

"Nope," Pierce shrugged.

"Right," The blue-haired man pinched his nose. "We don't have enough healers to go around anyway. We'll just have to have the ones from Fuurinkazan and the Holy Dragon Alliance watch you and the soloists' backs," he sighed.

"Alright, I guess that works," Pierce nodded.

"Well, split your forces into two groups, each consisting of two melee DPS, one ranged, and one tank. Put your support with one of them," Diavel suggested, and Pierce grinned. "Thanks for the tips,"

"Anyway," Heathcliff cleared his throat, seeming tired of catching the Phoenixes up to speed on how raids worked.

"Right, yes. So, what's the story with this boss?" Pierce questioned, and Heathcliff brightened, happy to get back to the situation at hand.

"It's name is «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn»," the man explained. "We think it wandered up here from Jotunheim. It's big, with four arms, each carrying a massive sword. We don't know if it has any ranged attacks," Heathcliff began.

"No sense in making it complicated. The basic idea is, while it attacks, the tanks keep its attention and sponge up the hits to keep aggro off them. When we get an opening, melee DPS get in there and start hitting until it recovers. Simple enough, right?" Diavel explained, and Pierce nodded.

"We'll be using switches, right?" Klein asked, and Diavel nodded, while Heathcliff simply inclined his head, a smile tugging at his face. "If the opportunity arises, then yes, we will,"

"Switches?" Pierce questioned.

"It's a strategy we employ during raids," Klein explained with an easy grin. "Say, there's one guy up in a monster's face. The monster's gonna realise that killing that guy is the priority, right?"

"Uh-huh,"

"But then the guy falls back, and switches with another guy waiting in the wings. So now the monster's target is further away, and there's a new guy up in its face. The monster's gotta stop. Think. Reprioritize. And that can buy you precious seconds. Plus, doing it that way gives people time to breathe, and to ready attacks that otherwise take too long to charge to use practically. A well-timed switch can turn into one hell of a blow,"

"I get it," Pierce nodded, grinning. "That's brillliant!"

"Indeed," Heathcliff nodded, unabashed. "Now. We've waited long enough as it is. Shall we advance? The boss should be just beyond that hill,"

"Works for me," Pierce nodded, returning to the Phoenixes. "Alright, we need to split into two groups. Boomer, Tyria, Lync, you're with me. Sarph, lead Grace, Artorias, and Fleur. Donna . . do what you can," Pierce shrugged, nodding encouragingly. "I'll trust you know about tanks and switching and stuff?" he asked Sarph, who nodded.

"Don't worry. We overheard everything," Tyria reassured him.

"Great. Well, let's get moving," Pierce grinned as the group split. "Just 'cause we're on their turf, doesn't mean we're gonna let the locals have all the fun! Phoenix's Eye forever!" he shouted.

"Phoenix's Eye forever!" everyone cheered.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Whoo! Time for some real action! Finally!**

 **Boss raids are fun, as are teams, and I look forward to 'switch' becoming a regular part of two-on-one fights in the wider story after Princess of Lies.**

 **The links to the concept arts that I used as guidelines for each character's new outfits have been spread through the chapter, but I also put them here;**

 **Pierce (the shirt is inaccurate, it should be blue with the Phoenix's Eye symbol):** **. /pin/206884176607505906/**

 **Donna (PERFECT PERFECT YAY IT EVEN LOOKS LIKE HER!):** **. /pin/693906255057419227/**

 **Tyria (the model's** **ethnicity is wrong and the sword and gr** **e** **en neckerchief shouldn't be there, but otherwise it's so perfect!):** **.**

 **Boomer (the teal parts should be white - also note Boomer's chubbier than this guy.):** **. /pin/316800155010604841/**

 **Grace (the colours are wrong, it should be yellow and grey):** **. /pin/362399101243804822/?autologin=true**

 **Lync (Totally perfect!): . /pin/561964859727202468/**

 **Artorias: . /pin/AYFiXwS0vaw9DdD5fX5tiVUw4zzw1kTyQkg8zvu_J4-lUam930n51JU/**

 **Fleur: . /pin/712553972264932264/**

 **Sarph (I wanted** **something different, but saw this and thought 'SO C** **OOL CHANGE NOTHING' - wildly inaccurate model, though):** **. /pin/489977634446970473/**

 **I hope you all like everyone's new outfits! Peace!**


	4. Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn

Chapter 74: «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn»

The raid party crested the hill, the four men - Heathcliff, Diavel, Klein and Pierce - leading the charge, and as they looked down into the valley, they saw the boss.

«Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn» was a hulking behemoth, three times as tall as a man, with navy blue skin and two massive tusks protruding from his jaw. Long, black, matted hair was tied back in a ponytail. He wore only a grimy loincloth, and each of his titular four arms carried a massive, heavy sword. Notably, the sword in his upper right hand was different to the others; all four were two-edged broadswords, but this one was black while the others were a more normal grey. Additionally, its blade held a yellowish sheen and a topaz jewel was set into its hilt.

Sarph frowned. "Is that what I think it is?"

"You mean the sword?" Heathcliff called over to him. "Yes. I believe it is. But we can discuss that after the battle,"

"Right," Sarph agreed.

"That is one hell of a B-A-M," Klein commented.

"A what?" Pierce questioned.

"Big-Ass Monster," the samurai clarified with a cheeky grin as they charged.

The raid groups surrounded the boss. Pierce and Sarph led their two groups to take the left flank.

"Ranged DPS! Attack!" Diavel shouted.

"You heard him. Lync, Fleur! Go!" Pierce commanded, and the two Phoenixes nodded. The words 'PETAL PUNCH' flared into life along Fleur's sword and she threw a pair of condensed fists of petals, while Lync shouted, "Airnvention; Rockets!" and launched a pair of missiles from his arms. As they did, mages and archers offloaded a variety of projectiles from the other group.

As they did, Pierce noticed that several of them were chanting in a strange language and white flashes that looked kind of like words were appearing around them. Was that Alfheimic style magic?

Thew bellowed, sweeping his lower pair of arms out and raising his upper, reversing his grip, before charging forwards and bringing the two heavy swords down towards the centre of the attackers raining ranged spells on it, a group of people dressed primarily in red and white. Pierce raised his eyebrows, noticing Heathcliff standing at the front of the group. They had to be the infamous Knights of the Blood.

Heathcliff and three others, all also equipped with shields, each put their shields together in pairs and the two massive swords glanced off them, the force of the thrust burying them deep into the ground.

"Melee DPS! Hit him while he's distracted!" Diavel shouted, and Pierce grinned. "That's our cue! Grace, you and me will take point, Tyria and Artorias, be ready to switch! Take Over: Werewolf Soul!" he declared, charging forwards as his body erupted in grey fur and he felt the familiar dopamine rush associated with transformation.

"Reality Dragon's Transcending Fist!" Grace shouted, clocking the jinn in the jaw. It grunted from where it was tugging on its two swords, trying to pull them out of the ground, and swept its lower pair of arms back, preparing a sweeping attack to discourage the mob of warriors, mostly wielding swords and hammers, from attacking it.

"Everyone, get back!" Diavel shouted, and Klein echoed from the other side of the battlefield; "Clear out!"

Pierce spotted the incoming attack, and blinked. "That's it?" He turned and watched as the melee DPS from Fuurinkazan, the Knights, and the bounty hunters scurried out of range. He paused and cast a glance at Grace, who returned the expression.

"What are you doing? Get back!" Klein shouted from the other side.

In unison, the siblings grinned at each other.

The sword swept towards them, and Grace jumped in mid-air, dropping into a rift that she opened under her feet. Pierce dealt one last blow to the monster's flank, before leaping upwards. His lupine-enhanced strength sent him soaring into the air and he backflipped as the blade passed underneath him, and then his clawed foot lashed out like lightning and smashed into Thew's shoulder.

Mutters and gasps went around the Alfheimic wizards. "Wow," "How did he do that?" "Are all wizards from Fiore like this?"

Thew finally wrenched his swords out of the ground and stepped backwards, and Pierce and Grace leapt back to rejoin the group. Thew bellowed again, tensing, before leaping upwards. The raid group watched as the boss hung in the air, spreading his swords outwards, and looking down with a wicked smile.

"He's gonna belly-flop us! Clear the area!" Klein shouted, and the raid group broke ranks, running in every direction, knowing full well that an attack like that would probably cause a shockwave. The Phoenixes scattered.

"TechType: Jetpack!" Tyria shouted, and a pair of massive, blue/silver turbines unfolded from her back. Revving up, she took off into the air.

"Tyria has the right idea. Take off! Avoid the shockwave!" Pierce shouted, cracking his knuckles. "Take Over; Phoenix Soul!" He felt Raya, his partner phoenix, 's energy coursing through his body, and orange and red feathers coated his frame as it lightened and mighty wings burst through his coat. Flexing his new, sixteen-foot wingspan, Pierce leapt into the air and caught the wind.

"Good plan!" Sarph agreed, manifesting his Aera wings and taking off.

Grace grinned and jumped into an invisible rift, reappearing in mid-air.

"That's all very well and good for you!" Boomer shouted up at the four flying wizards.

However, in spite of the attacks that they had just dealt it, it appeared that «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn» wasn't targeting them. Rather, it was aiming straight towards Klein and the Fuurinkazan wizards.

"Aww, shit shit shit," Klein growled, looking around at his guild. His tanks couldn't block an attack from above, and his DPS and support were right in the line of fire here. There wasn't enough time to get out of the way, they'd all be crushed to death.

And suddenly a silver-haired witch that Klein recognised as one of the foreigners was in their midst, with flower petals surrounding her. Fleur raised her rapier in one hand, and grasped its sheath with her other. As golden flower petals billowed out of the opening, words flashed down the blade of her sword in golden calligraphy; 'AEGIS OF FLOWERS'.

When Thew crashed to the ground, it hit a massive, billowing shield of golden flower petals, held up by Fleur with her rapier. She glared at Klein and made a 'shooing' motion. "Everyone, move!" Klein shouted, and the remainder of Fuurinkazan immediately dashed out of the impact zone.

Pierce and Sarph exchanged glances, before looking back at the impressive shield Fleur was producing. "Did you know she could do that?" the Tamer questioned. "No," the angelic knight replied. "Evidently she's gotten stronger too,"

Suddenly, Thew shifted downward a bit as Fleur, unable to maintain the strain of both the shield and the weight, fell to one knee. "Guys, she needs help!" Tyria interrupted.

"I'm on it!" Grace declared, hanging in mid-air between rifts and waving her hand. As she did, a rift opened beneath Fleur's feet, and she fell through the hole, appearing between Boomer and Artorias amongst several clods of dirt.

Meanwhile, the Knights of the Blood Oath, under Heathcliff, were rallying. "Ranged DPS! Attack!" the grey-haired man declared.

"I'm with them. I want a closer look at Alfheimic magic!" Sarph declared, swooping towards the Knights.

"I think he really wants a closer look at Heathcliff," Tyria, who was hovering as Pierce circled her, commented, and the currently avian boy nodded. "Think we should join in?"

"No, we'd get in their way," the Electrian shook her head.

Sarph landed near Heathcliff, who was chanting a spell. White words appeared around him as he declared, "Se vethleka jan!" with his sword, «Liberator», sheathed and a hand outstretched towards the boss. A pulse of white magic shot from his hand towards the boss, and Sarph raised his eyebrows in amazement. "What was that?"

"Later. Setto kachi vethleka jan!" No sooner than the second projectile had arced away, homing in on the enemy, Heathcliff continued; "Setto tsuta vethleka jan!" and fired off a third, which seemed noticeably stronger than its predecessors. Looking around, Sarph realised that several other people were invoking similar incantations with similar results. "Fascinating," he muttered, resolving to do more research into the subject.

Meanwhile, the other Phoenixes were rallying and regrouping. "Okay, what now?" Grace asked her brother, looking around. The raid group's structure had mostly collapsed, the solo players under Diavel's command had scattered and Fuurinkaxan was in the middle of reorganising themselves. Only the Knights of the Blood were still in formation.

"Should we go in?" Tyria suggested.

Before Pierce could respond, Thew bellowed, flailing its arms and knocking the people surrounding it away, before standing up and picking up its four swords. It turned, menacing red eyes fixated on Fleur.

"Shit," Klein muttered, recognising the look on the boss' face. "Oi! Fioreans! Your girl's got aggro! Move!" he hollered, cupping his hands and shouting in the direction of the foreigners.

As if to refute his point, Thew bellowed, charging towards them and swinging his swords in a mad frenzy, knocking away several solo players in his path.

"Scatter!" Pierce shrieked, taking off once again. The rest of the Phoenixes dashed in every direction as the boss crashed into the space where they had been, carving a furrow into the ground with his swords, before lashing out towards Fleur. The Petal Mage skipped backwards, holding her rapier in a guard position. She knew the lithe, thin blade would snap like a twig if she tried to use it to block, but she still needed it for her magic.

Wait. That gave her an idea.

Thew roared again, bringing the large, black blade that he held in his upper right arm across to slice Fleur in half. The blade had too much reach; she couldn't dodge - but she wasn't planning to, and as she invoked another spell, words appeared along the flat of her blade; 'PETAL SWORD STYLE'. A long, flowing blade made of petals built around her rapier, of equal size and strength to the blade Thew was attacking her with. The two weapons clashed, and Fleur gritted her teeth, refusing to give an inch. For long moments, the two struggled against each other.

And then Grace leapt out of a rift, perched on the flat of Thew's massive sword, and shouted, "Reality Dragon's Roar!"

Shocked by the point-blank blast of grey, reality-warping energy to the face, Thew staggered backwards, allowing Fleur the reprieve needed to dispel her sword and break away from the conflict. He snarled, looking around for the green-haired girl who had assaulted him, and spotted her a short distance away. Growling, the boss charged again, raising its upper two arms and preparing to deal a staggering blow to the Dragon Slayer.

But suddenly Diavel was there, raising his large sword into a block. He staggered as the boss' two blades smashed into his, gritting his teeth and holding firm under the pressure. Grace, who had been on the verge of teleporting away, paused, and realised she had an opportunity. "Can you hold that for ten seconds, then move?" she asked, and Diavel nodded.

"Great! Dragon Slayer's Secret Art," the young dragon spread her arms, and hazy outlines of draconian wings manifested around them. Diavel spotted what she was doing in his peripheral vision, raised an eyebrow, and prepared to dodge sideways.

Inside Grace's chest, the Dragon Lacrima nestled next to her heart glowed, pouring its energy into her blood.

"Dark Matter; Galaxy Rotation Wing!" Grace shouted, sweeping her arms together in an X. Diavel ducked sideways, quickly removing himself from the crossfire, as two incredibly powerful blasts of reality-warping magic were launched from her arms and smashed into the boss. With a strangled gurgle, «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn» was thrown backwards by the force of the girl's attack, and landed, stumbling, several feet back.

"Paralyse it!" Heathcliff barked as the Knights of the Blood caught up, and in perfect unison five members of the group moved to the front and shouted; "Yappa futto yojikke navgojiki zuru jan!" One of them stumbled on the fourth word and stopped, realising he had gotten the spell wrong, but the other four completed it, launching four dark projectiles into the air. One of them missed, passing through the space where Thew's head had been seconds ago, but the other three hit the monster's shoulder, hand and leg as it fell. The boss' six limbs went limp and he collapsed, and then the Knights' melee DPS went in and started hacking and slicing at the boss' thick skin.

The Phoenixes regrouped on Grace, watching the Knights of the Blood have at it. "Think that's it?" Tyria asked.

"Don't count on it. Bosses are tough," Sarph shook his head.

Suddenly, Thew's four massive arms flailed and he slammed them all, as well as his head and feet, into the ground, generating a shock wave that threw the Knights of the Blood in every direction. Seeming to levitate, he lifted himself to his feet and retrieved the long black sword that had been in his upper right arm, as well as one of the other three mundane blades. He roared, beating on his chest with his lower pair of arms.

Heathcliff drew up, holding his shield tight to his chest. "Everyone, fall back!" he shouted over the noise of the boss' shouts. "Fall back! State change is imminent!"

Boomer heard this and frowned. "What's a state change?"

"In layman's terms?" Sarph questioned, briefly checking a golden Archive screens. "Thew's figured out that the way it's fighting isn't working. So it's gonna try something new now,"

"Why?" Lync asked.

"Good news is, it's getting desperate. Bad news is, it's getting desperate," Tyria added.

A sudden shout came from the entrance to the valley, and the Phoenixes turned in surprise to see that a couple of the solo players had decided they weren't up to the task of fighting the boss, and were attempting to escape the way they had came. Unfortunately, they were being attacked by a trio of new monsters, all four-armed creatures that were six feet tall with calloused knuckles, and heavy punches sent them flying back.

"Help them!" Pierce shouted, dismissing his Phoenix Soul Take-Over, and Requipping his flute, rattling off the tune to summon Crystal. The blue-skinned mermaid shot out of the flute like a bullet, flying through the air and smashing into the foremost of the newcomers, stabbing it repeatedly with her stone knives.

"Open, Gate of the Battlefield! Mars!" Donna shouted, and a doorbell rang, dropping the Soldier Spirit in front of the second, while Lync rocketed across the space between them and intercepted the third. "Airnvention; Rocket!" he shouted, spawning a launchpad on the ground and blasting the monster into the air.

"Adds! Everyone, look out! We've got adds!" Klein hollered, and, looking towards him, Pierce noticed that Fuurinkazan was occupied by several more of the newcomer monsters. "Adds?" he asked Sarph.

"Additional enemies," The Phoenixes turned to see Diavel staggering up to them. "That's quite the spell you have, young lady," he commented, smiling at Grace, who beamed at the praise.

"Thew's calling his buddies for help," Sarph clarified, and Pierce glared at him. "I got that!"

"Most of the solo players have split," Diavel sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised. Most of them were only in it for the loot anyway,"

"I suppose they want their lives more than their payday," Donna commented. "Wusses,"

"Maybe," Artorias softly commented. "It looks like Thew is about to break away from the Knights. Might I take this attack? I want to test my new weapon," he suggested, patting the «Sleepless Dream».

"By all means," the blue-haired tank nodded, stepping aside.

"Artorias, Sarph? Go engage the boss, give the Knights time to reorganise," Pierce commanded.

"You two see if you can lead it back here. We'll get ready to intercept," Diavel added.

"You got it," the Blood wizard nodded, charging towards the boss, who was terrorising the scattered Knights of the Blood. Sarph followed in hot pursuit, grasping the streamlined blasters attached to his hips.

As Artorias drew the «Sleepless Dream», he channelled magic into it and blood materialised down the length of the blade, condensing into a razor-sharp sword. "How fun," he observed, bringing the sword back as he approached the boss, who was punching at the ground as it charged after a pair of frantically fleeing Knights - two of the three who had successfully hit him with Paralysis spells. Dashing past them, Artorias swung his blade in a circle, leapt over a flying fist as it swung towards him, pushed off the monster's elbow and slashed at its chest.

The bloody blade bounced off the monster's thick hide, and as Artorias fell from mid-air, preparing to kick off its stomach and make a quick escape, Thew's upper left hand swung in like lightning and cuffed him aside, sending the Blood Wizard flying.

Artorias landed awkwardly, sprawled on his back, and Thew interrupted its headlong charge, turning to him and raising its two swords to bring them down in an overhead blow that would probably be the end for Artorias. He bellowed as he swung, bringing the blades down, and the S-Class wizard dropped his sword, about to summon a shield of blood even though he knew it would do no good -

And then Heathcliff was standing in front of him, bringing his shield up. "«Holy Sword»!" he shouted, and Thew's swords smashed into the solid, enchanted metal shield. Heathcliff didn't flinch.

Artorias let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Thank you," he breathed, snatching up the «Sleepless Dream».

"Thank me by taking him down," the older man retorted from the corner of his mouth.

The boy nodded, rolling out from under Heathcliff's shield and advancing, spotting that Fuurinkazan had engaged the Jinn while it was distracted with him and Heathcliff. He chanced a glance back at his guildmates, to see Sarph hot on his heels and the rest of his team organising something. Notably, Tyria's hair had changed into the silver spikes and she had manifested the wings made of gears that denoted her Gear Change into TechType Mark III. They probably had a plan.

He dashed up to Klein, who was hanging back and ready to step in at a moment's notice. "Hello," he nodded to the Fuurinkazan master, who started in surprise and wheeled to face him. "Whoa - they should put a bell on you," he gasped.

Artorias rolled his eyes. "My guild is setting something up," he told Klein, gesturing to the group behind them. "Can we lead the boss towards them?"

"Maybe - look out!" the samurai shouted, shoving the Phoenix aside as one of Thew's small, four-armed jinn minions lunged at them. Artorias span on his heel and raised his left hand. "Bleeding Wave!" he invoked, and a surge of blood washed out of the ground and smashed into the monster. Then Klein dashed forwards, his sword glowing with red light, and he slashed at the monster in a three-hit combo that sent the creature eating grass. "I really hate these «Jinn Brawlers»," he growled.

"I can see that," Artorias nodded.

"Everyone! Train the boss towards the Fioreans!" the redhead shouted, waving at his guildmates, several of which gave shouts of affirmation amidst Alfheimic spells.

And, slowly, the group began to move, bringing the boss with them, towards the Phoenixes.

Artorias watched as Sarph returned to the team, before following Klein to join in with teasing «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn» towards them. "Bleeding Slicer! Bleeding Slicer!" he declared, launching slicks of blood with waves of his hand, while Klein stabbed and slashed with his katana. The boy noticed with faint curiosity that the Guild Master of Fuurinkazan wasn't joining in with his guildmates' chants of Alfheimic magic, but didn't have time to ponder it as he dodged another crushing blow from one of Thew's lower fists.

Within a few minutes, Phoenix's Eye and Fuurinkazan had joined. "Everyone! Fall back!" Diavel hollered, and, knowing that it was wise to heed such commands, the distracting members of Fuurinkazan backed away. Thew was on the verge of following them, but Lync shot a Rocket at him and hollered, "Oi, ugly! Over here!" sticking out his tongue for good measure.

Thew turned, and, as he did, saw what the Phoenixes had cooked up.

Tyria was in the centre, transformed into TechType Mark: Third, tattoos running down her arms and legs, electricity crackling through the silver spikes of her metallised hair, and the sixty-four gears that composed her butterfly-like wings were spread behind her, each building a charge of blue TechType energy and causing her new blue «Sunrise Cloak» to flutter in the wind. Next to her, the air was vibrating around Boomer as he built a massive charge of Sound Magic, holding his boombox and glaring. Opposite him stood Pierce, who had returned to his Take Over: Phoenix Soul form, and was inhaling. In front of all three stood Sarph, who held up his replacement sword, «Flashy Wake», and in front of him, Diavel was ready to guard, with his sword before him and a hand behind, inches from the cross guard of «Flashy Wake».

"TechType Mark III: Redacted Variable Hyperlaser!" Tyria shouted, and the sixty-four pulses of energy all united in a massive blast, while Boomer clapped his hands together and declared, "Mega-Bass!" firing off a projectile of hypersonic sound, and for good measure, Pierce added, "Solar Blast!" to launch a flaming projectile of Phoenix fire. As they did, Diavel quickly chanted an Alfheimic incantation; "Zutto yojikke shujarilth shaja min," and tapped Sarph's sword, sending a flash of light down «Flashy Wake», before charging forwards.

With a shout of "Fell Crescent!" Diavel leapt between the boss's raised arms and delivered a stunning blow with his sword, glowing blue, to the monster's pelvis, before landing at his feet. No sooner than he had, though, than he was leaping into the air again, his sword's colour shifting to bloody red, and declaring; "Savage Fulcrum!" which precipitated a merciless three-strike combo.

Meanwhile, the Phoenixes' three attacks came together on Sarph's sword, concentrating into a supercharged nexus of burning, charged, quantum energy that blazed high and cast shadows across the man's face. "Ready!" he called to Diavel just as he finished executing the «Savage Fulcrum» technique, and the man flung himself away, tucking his limbs in tight and, as the boss' angry slash passed just above his head, he shouted, _"Switch!"_

Without hesitation, Sarph charged forwards, his Aera wings materialising as blasts of energy from the cannons on his hips propelled him into the air, where he landed on a solidified Archive screen and leapt off again, bringing «Flashy Wake» back and unleashing a massive slash. The supercharged sword let out all of its energy in a single blow, bisecting «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn» with a multicoloured burst of destruction. The boss let out one final, agonising scream, before falling back, its eyes sliding shut.

Sarph landed on the remnants of the monster's chest, breathing heavily. "Well," he muttered, an elated smile tugging at his lips, "That was therapeutic," He raised his sword - only to blink at the fact that it suddenly felt lighter. He cast a glance at «Flashy Wake», and saw that it had snapped in half, blackened edges all that remained. Evidently the charge spell had been too much for it.

The man was speechless, staring at this, second, broken hilt. "No. Not again," he shook his head, gritting his teeth.

Suddenly, under his feet, the boss disappeared, breaking down into rapidly-decomposing chunks of flesh and several flashes of light, which swarmed around the battlefield, materialising in front of several players.

Klein cracked a grin. "Here come the drops," he grinned as a pile of coins materialised at his feet, along with a set of gloves. He picked up the gloves and inspected them, before shrugging and pocketing them, along with the coins. "Trash. But I can sell them,"

Pierce started in surprise as a slightly larger pile of money appeared at his feet, along with a plain-looking warhammer. "The hell?" he asked, regarding them curiously.

"They're drops," Diavel informed him, picking up his own pile of loot. "Rewards for defeating the boss,"

"So that's what Lady Sakuya meant when she said that boss raids were profitable," Artorias observed.

Tyria scooped up her share of money, along with what looked like a horse's saddle, and regarded them. "But where do they come from? Also, what the heck am I supposed to do with this?" she questioned, raising the saddle.

"Vendor it off. There's always a market for stuff like this, especially boss drops," Klein shrugged. "As for where it all comes from? Beats the heck out of me. But it's sure convenient," The samurai swivelled and turned towards Sarph, who was staring at his feet. "Hey, big guy? What did you get for the L-A-B?"

Sarph didn't respond.

"What's an L-A-B?" Boomer questioned, regarding a leather cap that had appeared at his feet in curiosity.

"Last attack bonus. Whoever dealt the final blow gets a bonus. Usually some powerful piece of equipment," Klein explained, starting towards the blond knight. "Come on, buddy, don't keep it a secret!"

There was a dull _thunk_. The broken remnants of «Flashy Wake» hit the ground.

Sarph collapsed to his knees, staring reverentially at the object at his feet.

A long, black sword, with two edges and a faint yellow tinge to its ebony flat. A topaz gem was set into its hilt. With a small wave of his hand, the knight brought up a small archive screen that showed the weapon's name. «Tenshi Meiyo».

"It's as we thought, isn't it?" The knight looked up in surprise to see Heathcliff looking at him, his sword and shield sheathed. "One of the 22 O Wazamono Grade Swords,"

"«Tenshi Meiyo»," Sarph nodded. He made no move to touch it.

Behind then, the Phoenixes, Diavel, and Fuurinkazan, which had regrouped around Klein, stopped a few metres away. Pierce held out his arms as Phoenix Soul melted away, making sure no one interrupted.

"Well? Are you going to take it?" the Guild Master of the Knights of the Blood prodded.

"No. I couldn't. I don't deserve to wield one of the Meito," Sarph shook his head. "They're reserved for legendary swordsmen. Like you. And I know the code of honour. Wielding a sword like this without the approval of its master is forbidden. Doing so would be a stain on the honour of «Tenshi Meiyo»,"

"You need to revise the code of honour," Heathcliff stopped him. "It's also acceptable to wield one of the Meito if you defeated the previous owner in combat. You dealt the final attack. You received the sword as the Last Attack Bonus. It's yours,"

"But what would the owner think?" Sarph questioned. He was embarrassed to admit that he couldn't recall who exactly the original owner of «Tenshi Meiyo» was off the top of his head, but «Tenshi Meiyo» was one of the 22 O Wazamono Swords. By simple virtue of that fact, it had to belong to a great swordsman.

"The boss was wielding the sword. It could only have done that if it had killed its owner and taken it. By killing the boss and claiming the sword, you are honouring the man who once wielded it," Heathcliff told him. "You've earned it,"

Sarph considered this, looking down at «Tenshi Meiyo». He reached out with his hand, and paused when his fingers were centimetres from the hilt, as though he expected the blade to shock him in retribution for daring to reach for it.

When no such reprisal came, he wrapped his fingers around the leather-bound hilt and lifted the sword. It was heavier than he had expected, though he really should have anticipated that - black swords were among the strongest and thus the heaviest in the world.

Sarph lifted «Tenshi Meiyo» high into the air, and smiled, enjoying the weight in his hand.

He had found his new sword.

 _-[CoT]-_

 _"Welcome, to DK's Ds on P's E!" Kit declared, looking up at the blackboard. "Today I'll be explaining to everyone about the Meito swords!"_

 _A phone started ringing behind him, but Kit ignored it._

 _"The Meito are a group of named swords, each created for a great swordsman," he gestured to the blackboard. "They're divided into four core groups," he added, continuing to ignore the phone._

 _"First is the Saijo O Wazamono swords. These are the most legendary of all, and there are only twelve in the world. This group includes «Liberator», Heathcliff's personal sword," the yokai continued._

 _"Next is the O Wazamono swords. There are twenty-two of these swords, each belonging to a famous swordsman of somewhat less renown than the owners of the Seiju O Wazamono, and this group includes «Tenshi Meiyo», Sarph's new sword. What abilities it may hold have yet to be discovered," Kit winked._

 _"After that come the Ryo Wazamono swords. There's fifty of these, and, like O Wazamono before it, these are owned by the third tier of historically famous swordsmen," Kit shrugged, not having any examples._

 _"The fourth and lowest tier is simply called the Wazamono swords. It's not been determined exactly how many of these there are. But they're boring, so I'll skip over those," Kit shrugged, knocking the blackboard aside._

 _At this point the phone ringing became too loud to ignore, and Kit groaned, picking it up. "What is it?" he shouted into the receiver._

 _"This is all going to be explained next chapter! This entire segment is redundant!" the author shouted through the phone._

 _"No it isn't! It gives me screentime!" Kit retorted._

 _"Fine. Whatever," the author huffed._

 _And then the camera cut off._

 _A/N_

 **A/N**

 **Great, now I'm going to have to write out the explanation of the Meito from Chapter 75. -.-**

 **Also, it's Phoenix's Eye trivia time! "Tenshi" is a Japanese word that means "angel". And "Meiyo" is a Japanese word that translates to "honour". Therefore, in Japanese, Tenshi Meiyo can be read as "Angel's honour". However, together, the two words can also be read as "Original character". So it really is the perfect name.**

 **Also, credit to Cathy for letting me use her home-made guide to Alfheim spells! I would post the link to the database, but FFN won't let me, so if you're interested PM me and I'll share the link.**

 **Peace!**


	5. Laughing At The Wind

Chapter 75: Laughing At The Wind

 ** _Previously, on The Guild Next Door . . ._**

 _"I can remove this," the Divine Caladrius nodded, leaning over the cursed child . . and she opened her eyes._

 _Glowing white orbs that shone like the sun momentarily dazzled everyone else in the room, forcing them to look away, and so they did not see as brown energy became to coalesce over Eve's skin, and the transformation slowly reversed as the mist separated itself from Eve's body. Feathers retracted into skin, and claws shrunk back into toes, and, after only a moment, the Caladrius closed her eyes once more. "It is done," she spoke without opening her mouth._

 _-[CoT]-_

Hours later, with the rising moon twinkling in the night sky, the Phoenix raid group returned to the Sylph palace. Sterben was waiting for them at the entrance, looking somewhat impatient. "Oh, good, you're back. I presume that the raid went well?"

"Very," Sarph smiled, his fingers resting on the hilt of «Tenshi Meiyo», strapped to his back.

"I've organised for you and your friends to be temporarily quartered in the unused barracks. Boys and girls bunk separately, of course," the secretary commented as he led them inside. "Floor 16. I trust you can find the way?"

"Of course," Pierce nodded.

"Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on the princess," Sterben nodded, making for the stairs at top speed.

"Does he mean Hare?" Grace blinked.

"Who else?" Artorias shrugged, his «Bloodstained Tunic» rippling as it did.

"Literally anyone," Boomer retorted. "I still can't believe she's a _princess_ ,"

-[CoT]-

Separating from the group on the twelfth floor medical bay of the palace, Pierce dropped in, with Kit trailing at his heels. Cubelios had been brought there when they arrived, and there had been no change in the now-human's condition.

"How is she?" he asked the medic as Kit jumped onto the bedside table and inquisitively peered at the unconscious girl.

"No change," the doctor replied. "It's strange. Physically, she's in almost perfect health - even though she needs to cut down on meat and eat more greens,"

Pierce grimaced. The doctor didn't know that, until a few hours ago (relative to their own timeline) Cubelios had been a carnivore, incapable of digesting plant foodstuffs. Of course, that was hardly the issue here.

"I can only assume that her current comatose state is a result of mental or emotional stress," the doctor shrugged. "In which case, it's entirely possible that the only thing to do is to give it time,"

"I see," the Tamer mused.

"I could possess her?" Kit suggested, but Pierce hastily held up a hand. "No, no. You know that's not safe. Especially with the mess of magic she's been through," The yokai deflated, accepting the logic.

"Is she close to you?" the man asked with a slightly suggestive twitch of his eyebrows.

Pierce would have laughed at the suggestion if he wasn't so worried. As it was, he just smiled an amused smile. "Me? No. I'm just keeping an eye on her for a friend,"

At the implication of romance, though, his thoughts turned to Tyria, and his smile turned slightly wistful. "Besides. I've got my eyes on someone else,"

"And you two _desperately_ need to get a room," Kit huffed, a statement which is partner ignored.

-[CoT]-

Sterben knocked on the door to the official princess' chambers, on Floor 85. "Princess?" he called.

There was no response.

He knocked again, louder. "Princess Hare?"

Nothing.

"Not this again," the man grumbled. "You'd think in ten years, or at least four, she'd grow up a bit. I wonder where she's gone now?"

-[CoT]-

At around the same time, Tyria, accompanied by Donna, Fleur and Grace, emerged into the designated girls' dormitories. Sterben had designated four six-person dormitories for the Phoenixes; two male and two female, and they knew that sleeping arrangements would need to be sorted out with Eve, Blanca, Alice and Master Feng. So, when they entered the dorms, they were unsurprised to see that Eve and Alice were setting themselves up in one of the dorm rooms, while Master Feng, taking it onto herself to keep Blanca and her toxic personality away from Eve, had taken the pompous Plastic wizard into the other room.

They were markedly more surprised to see Hare bedding down on the top bunk of an unused bunk bed.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Tyria questioned, raising an eyebrow at Hare.

"Getting ready for bed. In case you hadn't noticed, it's half past eight," the Speed wizard flippantly retorted, looking down at her guildmates.

Fleur took one look at the Speed wizard, who she wasn't entirely convinced wouldn't take the opportunity to slit her throat in her sleep, and decided to bed down in the other room. She'd take Blanca over Hare any day. Grace decided to follow her.

"No, I mean here. With us," the Electrian amended her question. "You're a princess, shouldn't you be off living it up in some private royal bedchamber?"

Suddenly, Hare blurred from her position on top of the bed, and she felt a stinging sensation on her cheek. "I am _not_ a princess. I'm a wizard of the Phoenix's Eye guild. That's all," Hare growled with even more vehemence than usual.

"Well, you could at least act like it," Tyria huffed, folding her arms and exeunting to the other dorm room.

"You know, she's right," Donna, having watched the whole confrontation, looked at Hare. "Would I be correct to say that you joined Phoenix's Eye to get away from all this?" she airily gestured at the palace around them.

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out," Hare snorted.

"That may be true. But look at it this way; right now, you're here as a member of Phoenix's Eye, with the rest of the guild backing you up," the Celestial Wizard reasoned. "That is why you're sleeping here, with us, isn't it?"

"Well, duh," the Speed wizard nodded.

"If being part of the guild means so much to you, then you should at least pretend to enjoy it. Right?" Donna chastised her, before turning on her heel, sending her white/cyan «Skyborne Swarths» billowing around her legs. "Food for thought," she reasoned, absconding to the other room to see her old friend again.

Alice opened her mouth, but a glare from Hare silenced her. "Not. Talking. About it," the Sylph huffed, folding her arms.

And then suddenly the door opened, admitting Sterben. "Miss Hare. I had wondered if I would find you here," the steward raised his eyebrows in irritation. "May I ask why you aren't sleeping in your royal bedchambers?"

"Because they're too high up. And they're cold," Hare snapped.

Sterben frowned, casting glances at Alice and Eve. Alice shook her head, and the man nodded, sighing, hearing the unspoken messages. "You're certain I can't entreat you to return to your chambers?" he questioned.

"Yep,"

"Fine, then. Goodnight, to the three of you," Sterben nodded, shutting the door as he left.

"Goodnight," Alice offered her guildmates, settling down.

"Goodnight," Eve, who had remained quiet as a mouse throughout the whole affair, squeaked, tucking herself in.

A few moments passed.

"Night," Hare gruffly retorted.

-[CoT]-

In the dead of night, three people leapt across rooftops. "You're certain of this?" the hooded leader asked, casting a glance at his accomplice, who wore a skull mask with glowing red eyes.

"The intel is accurate. She's not in her room," Red-Eyed XaXa replied in a whisper.

The third man looked at the other two. "You're sure we have to make this fast? It would be so easy for me to poison every last one of them. They'll be dead by morning," he chuckled, clasping his hands together.

"No," the leader shot him down. "We need to be in and out if this is going to work. This is the Sylph Palace, the most secure location in southwest Alfheim. We don't have time to mess around,"

"Fine," Johnny Black sighed. "On you?"

"Of course," Prince of Hell nodded, and grinned. "Now, friends! I hope everyone's watching us! It's showtime!" With that, he took a running leap forwards from the roof the building they were standing on. As he did, Johnny and XaXa followed, mirroring him perfectly, and the three black-clad assassins clung to the wall, before climbing upwards and across with a series of fast-paced motions.

Soon, the three were crouched around a window. Peering inside, XaXa saw that of the six beds, three were occupied. One by their quarry. "She's there,"

"Excellent. Proceed," Prince replied, and his ally nodded, holding up his left hand. "Ya jan!" he muttered, and a blast of black energy knocked the window out of its pane.

And then they were moving, XaXa dashing through the opened window with Prince swinging in behind him. Feet were already on the ground when the glass hit the floor and shattered.

"Yatto tsuta jan!" the skull-faced man declared, raising both hands, and twin blasts of shadowy magic blasted chunks out of the supports for Hare's top-bunk bed, causing it to tip sideways and sending the witch, still half-asleep, rolling out of bed and falling into Prince's waiting arms. "Hello, lovely," the man grinned, leaning in and planting a swift, slobbery kiss on the Phoenix's cheek.

It was this declaration that caused Eve to sit bolt upright with a squeak. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she took in the situation. She squeaked again.

Noticing her, Prince cursed, before wheeling and declaring, "We're gone!"

XaXa was already leaping back through the window and sliding down the slight slant of the outside wall. His partner followed, tucking a bleary-eyed Hare under his arm and vaulting out of the window.

Eve gasped, scrambling out of bed and rushing to Alice, who was starting to stir. "Alice! Alice, someone kidnapped Hare!" she shrieked, shaking the girl awake.

The Brawler's eyes snapped open. "What? Oh no," she took a breath as she sat up, rapidly considering the situation as Eve recounted how their attackers had escaped through the window. "Go after them. I'll wake up the others," she declared, clambering out of bed.

"What? Why me?" Eve panicked, concern in her eyes. "I'm no good at fighting, I can't do this!"

"Well, you're better equipped than I. Just follow them and wait for everyone else to catch up, if you can't take them on yourself," Alice declared, and without another word, she strode towards the door.

Eve nodded, her brown hair rustling. "Okay. I . . I can do this. There has to be something I can do . . I won't just stand by when my friends need me again," she resolved, recalling that day outside the Divine Caladrius' shrine, when Tyria had been shot . . the Caladrius.

Rummaging in her pocket, she pulled out what she had thought she'd been carrying around since the beginning of the S-Class Trials. One of the three feathers gifted to her by the Divine Caladrius.

Eve wrapped her fingers around it, and, squeezing her eyes shut in prayer, whispered, "Please, give me the strength to do what I have to,"

Suddenly, a blinding light seared through her eyelids, and divine energy washed into her body from the feather. Eve gasped, feeling _something_ change within herself; a new lightness of sorts washing through her, empowering her. Her eyes slid open, and a strand of snowy white hair hung into her vision. Eve regarded the changed colour curiously, before looking down at the feather in her hand. It had been crushed, and faded to grey. She sighed, her wings drooping in disappointment. "So much for that,"

Eve blinked. Wait.

Turning her head in amazement, she gasped, taking in the sight of a pair of massive white wings with tawny trim on the edges that were suddenly mounted on her back. In addition, four long, white tailfeathers hung out of her dress like a partial skirt, each ending in a brown tip. "Oh, wow," she muttered, stunned by the display. Experimentally, she twitched - and it moved, as she wanted it to! They really were _her wings!_

A strangled scream from below reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing. Gripped with a sudden new resolve, Eve, acting on muscle memories that had to be somehow associated with the new ability she had been granted, folded her wings into a tight accordion around her back, and leapt through the window. As soon as her tailfeathers cleared the gap, she spread the new appendages wide, and was shocked at how easy it was to hold herself in mid-air.

Looking down, Eve immediately spotted the three assailants fleeing through back streets. Flapping, she carefully descended and followed them from above.

But . . _why just follow_ , she asked herself. In this state, she felt powerful. She felt like she could fight. And she still had her Celestial Keys, as well as her Snow magic.

A slightly nervous smile played across her lips. No more standing by and watching.

-[CoT]-

A few minutes earlier, Prince, holding a struggling Hare under his arms, who was now very much awake. "Johnny. Paralysis," he hissed at the man with the burlap mask.

The poisoner nodded, immediately producing a needle filled with a viscous yellow fluid, and stabbed it into Hare's arm, discharging its contents into her bloodstream. She spasmed, before going limp.

"We have to move," XaXa hissed, briefly tapping his skull mask with its glowing red eyes to check that it hadn't gotten loose.

"Those other girls saw us. It's only a matter of time until they raise the alarm. I told you we should have killed them while we could!" Johnny exclaimed. His expression was hidden, but his tone was obviously exasperated.

"Don't worry, Johnny," Prophet reassured him, looking around. "We got what we needed. Now, this way. Remember the plan," he declared, charging into the back streets, with a limp Hare over his shoulder.

"Right. The plan," XaXa agreed, following him. Johnny scoffed. "Sure. _Your_ plan," but followed all the same.

A few minutes passed in silence, and for a moment XaXa and Johnny dared to believe they were in the clear.

And then an angel dive-bombed them.

Acting solely on instinct, Prince suddenly narrowly dodged as Eve swept past him, her wings partly tucked in to compensate for the cramped quarters. She wheeled, flapping, and faced the three. "Give me back my friend!" she commanded.

Prince paused. He cast sidelong glances at XaXa and Johnny. "That was fast," he commented. "Here, hold this. We'll take her," he hoisted Hare's limp form in Johnny's direction, and with a gasp the poisoner caught her. "Seriously?" the sack-headed man demanded, looking more than a little put out by his frequent sidelining.

"Patience, Johnny," the leader replied, drawing a weapon that resembled a butcher's cleaver. "So. You're one of those Fioreans," he observed.

"My name is Eve Tangelia, and I'm a wizard of the Phoenix's Eye guild. I won't let you lay a hand on my friend," the winged witch declared, producing a Celestial Spirit Key. "Open, Gate of the North Star! Polaris!" The familiar doorbell noise of a Celestial Spirit Gate opening rang through the streets, and a tall woman with pale, white skin and long, dark hair, emerged, clad in a dark blue vest and short skirt, over a white shirt and brown leggings. Her head was clad in a massive bearskin that was tied by string around her neck and trailed behind her like a cape. "I like your new look, mistress," the Spirit nodded, and Eve grinned, her wings twitching in abashment.

Prince raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Fiorean magic, I presume. To think there's a school of magic that allows you to summon servants out of thin air," He raised his dagger, and licked his lips. "«Bloody Wake»!" he invoked, his cleaver glistening with red light, and he sprung forwards as though launched from a slingshot, slashing at Polaris. Taken aback by the speed of the skill, Polaris barely managed Ito dodge, but Prophet powered forwards, bringing his meat cleaver up towards Eve, still glowing with crimson light. Eve shrieked and blasted him with a projectile of Snow magic.

The white powder coated his eyes and blinded him, forcing Prince to slow to a halt. Sending an opportunity, Eve lashed out with reflexes she didn't know she had, bringing her right wing sweeping across in a stunning blow that would have thrown Prince straight into the wall of a nearby building - had he still been there. However, the man had leapt high into the air, bringing his dagger up as he did, and it started glowing with orange light. "«Falling Star»!" he invoked, and the Sword Skill brought him crashing down towards Eve.

Polaris, watching him, gasped and was about to intervene, but a black blade appeared in her view, which she only barely managed to deflect. Whirling to face her foe, she was met with the glowing red eyes and pearly skull of Red-Eyed XaXa. "Boo!" the man shouted as he retracted his estoc, before laughing maniacally as he skipped backwards, raising his weapon as it shone with bloody red light. "«Savage Fulcrum»!" he invoked, throwing himself into a merciless three-strike combination. Hastily manifesting knives of crackling white energy, Polaris managed to block the first two strikes, but the third slid through her guard and sent her sprawling.

Beating her wings, Eve dodged, her lightened body lifting into the air as Prince crashed to the ground, sending a shockwave of energy through a two-metre radius.

"What are you doing?" XaXa demanded, advancing on Polaris. "Finish her already!"

"You're right. No one wants to watch something that's boring," Prince nodded, drawing breath and beginning to chant a spell of Alfheimic magic.

As he did, XaXa grinned down at Polaris. The Spirit struggled to get up, but throwing stars lashed out of the skull-faced man's free hand, pinning her sleeves and bearskin coat to the ground. Polaris choked as the man stepped over her twitching legs, and laughed as he raised his estoc. "Yes, that's perfect," he chuckled. "Fear me. Let the final expression on your face be one of absolute terror, and know that your death comes at the hands of Laughing Coffin!" And with that, and Eve unable to tear her eyes away, the man buried his blade in Polaris' chest, cutting her coat open and sending sprays of Celestial energy into the air.

XaXa blinked, looking at the white energy. "That's odd. There's no blood,"

"She's a summon, man," Johnny interjected from a few metres away. "Made of condensed ethernano. No blood needed,"

"Seriously? That's bogus," XaXa huffed as Polaris choked, refusing to give him the satisfaction of screaming.

"Close! Gate of the North Star!" Eve choked, horrified, and Polaris vanished, leaving XaXa's blade buried in the dirt.

However, by now, Prince, who had paid no heed to the proceedings, was finishing his incantation. "Yappa futto famudrokke navgojiko nushlavu vethleka jan!" he finished, firing a massive projectile of dark energy towards Eve. "Everyone!" he added, looking around as though searching for an invisible spectator. "Watch this!"

Tensing her wings, she leapt upwards and allowed the attack to pass between her legs. Frantically flapping, she maintained altitude. "Was that it?" she questioned.

"Did you know that adding the word 'vethleka' to a spell turns it into a homing attack?" Prince asked with a sadistic smile.

The cockiness drained out of Eve's face. "What?" She turned her head and looked between her wing joints, just in time to see the projectile arc around and smash into her back. Her wings crumpled as the concussive force of the blow threw her forwards, over Prince and XaXa's head, and as she crashed to the ground, her limbs - all six of them - suddenly felt like lead. She struggled with her unresponsive body, and even tried to cry out, but the words wouldn't come.

"Don't bother," Prince declared, striding between his partners. "In addition to being homing and dealing direct damage, that spell inflicts Silence and Paralysis effects on you. You're helpless," he smiled coldly, the hand clutching his cleaver twitching in anticipation. "And unlike little miss bitch boots over there," He grinned, showing pearly white teeth, "you're expendable,"

Eve gritted her teeth. There had to be something she could do. She couldn't just lie down and die! Not after all this! Surely there was something. Anything!

Her mind flashed back to the explanation of her own powers that the Divine Caladrius had given her and her friends, when they defended her shrine on Mount Zheng. _"I have the ability to take all that which ails people and draw it out of their body and into my own. This is why I live here, atop a volcano. I can cast the afflictions I take into myself down into the volcano where they burn until nothing remains,"_ It stood to reason that the Caladrius' powers would also work in reverse; casting afflictions out of her own body and into that of someone else.

The Caladrius' power was inside Eve now. Could she draw on that ability? Even just once? Focusing with all her being, she reached inside herself, drawing on the power that the feather had given her, screwing her eyes shut tight.

Prince frowned, noticing that his victim had closed her eyes. "Oh, no no no. We can't have that. I prefer it when people watch death approach with their eyes wide open," he declared, crouching over Eve. Her crumpled wings stopped her from rolling onto her back, but he turned her head and stared into her face, reaching for her eyelid with the hand that wasn't clutching his cleaver, «Mate Chopper» and pulling it back.

Blinding white light shone from Eve's eye as, with a great effort from the ethernano within her body, she forced the effects imprisoning her out of herself, sending a rush of grey mist out of her body, and into her attacker.

And Prince choked on his own monologue, collapsing. Furling her wings, Eve scrambled to her feet, facing the three men. The light faded from her eyes, but she didn't mind. One time had been enough. And now, whatever she had done to draw on the Caladrius' power, it had granted her some new skill that she knew could end the fight.

"What did you do?" XaXa challenged, reaching over his back and pulling out what Eve immediately saw was some kind of heavy-looking sniper rifle. His estoc hung at his side as XaXa levelled the «Accuracy International L115A3» at Eve's heart. Johnny, a few feet away, looked like he wished he'd brought such an impressive gun. _"What did you do?"_ he demanded.

"What he deserved," Eve hissed. She raised her arms, spread her wings partway so that it looked like she had a cape of feathers that hung to her knees, and began to chant a spell of her own. "As the world spins around the frozen poles, the stars shine down from the realm of the gods,"

"She's casting! Shoot her!" Johnny hissed.

"May the great bird follow the celestial spheres, until it reaches the cold abyss beyond the end of the stars," Eve continued, a white magic circle appearing before her, and XaXa nodded, aiming, and firing.

There was a blast of noise as the «Accuracy International L115A3» discharged, but a flash of energy reduced the projectile to dust as the witch continued. "From this final cold I draw the power of gods, and invoke the eternal raging storm,"

"We should move," XaXa realised, taking a step back, but Johnny shook his head. "Too late,"

Sweeping her arms outwards, a massive flurry of shining snow built around her arms and wings, and Eve finished; _"Blizzard . . . Phoenix!"_

It was as though a natural disaster had been unleashed within the confines of the alleyway; biting winds, chunks of hail, a thick mist of snow that coated all it came into contact with. Johnny screamed as Hare was lifted out of his arms by Eve's empowered magic and pulled out of the blast radius, before he was thrown down the alleyway. XaXa and Prince's paralysed form soon followed him.

After a few moments, the storm died down, leaving Eve standing, with Hare just behind her, at the edge of a massive field of snow, interspersed with tiny twinkling lights like stars. At the far end of the alleyway, XaXa and Johnny were staggering, using each other for support, between a massive mound of snow. Both were soaked to the bone with white powder, and neither could repress shivers that wracked their body.

As she refurled her wings, footsteps alerted her to new arrivals. Eve turned, fully expecting pursuit - but, instead, she found several of her female guildmates, sans Alice, being led by Sterben.

"Eve?" Tyria blinked, taking in the witch's new appearance. "You look great," she flattered.

Fleur and Donna rushed over to Hare, who had come back to her senses and was struggling to get up, beginning to untie her.

"That can wait," Master Feng growled, pausing next to Eve and focusing on the two men several metres away. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Suddenly, the snowdrift near XaXa and Johnny exploded, revealing Prince in all his glory. "Who are we?" he parroted with a wide smile, baring teeth that shone through the shadows obscuring his face, before turning to his accomplices, still bearing that deranged, out-of-place grin. "You hear that, boys? She wants to know who we are!" he exclaimed.

"Right. Like she hasn't heard of us," Johnny nodded behind his mask.

"Well, if you must know, I suppose we can introduce ourselves," Prince nodded graciously. "Watch very closely!"

Johnny stepped forward. "Johnny Black's the name, poisoning's the game. When I get my needles into you, you won't live to see tomorrow,"

XaXa lifted his head and patted his «Accuracy International L115A3». "They call me Red-Eyed XaXa. Because when my sights are on someone, all I see is blood,"

Finally, the leader spread his arms wide. "And I am the Prince of Hell, the Guild Master of the Red Guild; Laughing Coffin!"

"What's a Red Guild?" Tyria whispered, and Donna answered. "A kind of dark guild that focuses almost exclusively on murdering people. If they call themselves a Red Guild, all they care about is death and destruction,"

"I am known by many names. Prince. Prince of Hell. Prophet. But you, my lovely ladies, can call me by my favoured title," He swept into a bow, before raising his head and adding, " _PoH_ ,"

Grace giggled.

Prince's smile left his face, and he looked at the young girl. "Why do you laugh?"

"I'm sorry - hee hee!" Grave couldn't repress her hilarity. "But . . did you just say your name, was _poo_?"

Prince looked extremely disgruntled at this. "PoH. P-o-H. It's an acronym," he growled.

"Sure sounds like _poo_ to me," Tyria weighed in.

Even Sterben, who seemed to be acting as the group's guide, stifled a chuckle. " _Poo_. How did I not see that before?"

"Enough!" Prince snapped. "Know this, Phoenix's Eye. You may have won the day, but this isn't the end. We will capture the princess, and Swilvane will be ours. And you will only be able to _watch_!" he declared, his words trailing off into fiendish laughter.

On a clearly prearranged cue, XaXa threw a smoke bomb to the ground, and the end of the alley exploded in rolling waves of fog that completely obscured the three leaders of Laughing Coffin. When it cleared, they were gone.

Hare, who had finally been freed and gotten to her feet, growled. "Those bastards,"

"They dare to threaten my guild?" Master Feng echoed the sentiment.

"Ahem. Perhaps we all ought to return to the palace? I can't help but feel that we are vulnerable out here, with no trace of our pursuers," Sterben interjected.

"He's right," Donna backed up the steward. "We'll go back to the palace, wake up the boys and talk things out,"

"And maybe get a midnight snack?" Grace piped up.

"By all means, I can arrange that. But we must be going," Sterben finished.

-[CoT]-

The three members of Laughing Coffin slunk down a side street, only a few blocks from the edge of the city.

"Halt!" a loud, commanding voice rang out, and the men stopped, all looking around. Prince drew «Mate Chopper» and XaXa unslung his «Accuracy International L115A3», while Johnny just smiled beneath his mask.

From a nearby alleyway emerged Sigurd, the commander of the Sylph army swinging his sword menacingly and glaring at the three murderers. "I won't let you escape this time, you scum!"

For a moment, the two opposing forces stood, each prepared to fight to an inch of their lives . . . and then Prince relaxed, sheathing «Mate Chopper» and casting Sigurd an irritated look. "Oh, come off it. You can see we don't have the princess with us,"

Sigurd blinked; he actually hadn't noticed that. But he hardly intended to admit it. "I suppose not," he sighed, sheathing his own blade and stepping towards them. "What happened? I thought we had an agreement!"

"Calm yourself," Prince retorted. "We kidnapped her, just like we intended. But those friends of hers from Fiore are more of a handful than anticipated,"

"You didn't tell us they could fight!" Johnny snapped, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at Sigurd. The Sylph growled, reaching for his sword, but Prince put himself between them and held out a placating hand towards them both. "Easy, men. We all have the same objective here. No need to come to blades,"

"I dunno, Prince. I think that Siggy here needs a little reminder of who's doing a favour for who here," Johnny growled.

"I'm not taking lip from a fucking ganker," Sigurd retorted, baring his teeth.

"Enough!" Prince snapped, shutting up both men.

XaXa nodded approvingly.

"All we need to do is adjust our plans a little," the Guild Master of Laughing Coffin declared. "If you play your role as well as I know you can, Sigurd, this can be turned to our advantage,"

Sigurd, mollified, nodded, accepting this. "What do you have in mind?"

"It's quite simple. We kill the Fioreans, on _our_ territory," Prince smiled darkly. And, as he outlined his plan, the expression was mirrored on the faces of each of his accomplices.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **I love the smell of betrayal in the morning.**

 **Also, here we go with the original Sword Skills. I really wish there was some kind of full database on Sword Art Online - though it is easier to make stuff up, I'll admit.**

 **And yay, Laughing Coffin finally got name-dropped! Other than Mylene waaaaay back in Oracion Och, which was a far lesser extent than this, this is the first time I have used villains from another canon as the main antagonists for an arc!**

 **It's fun, but tiring. On the one hand, Laughing Coffin is fun to write. Prince, for example? He's sort of like Lex Luthor, but with the Joker's sense of humour, the skill set of Deadpool (minus the guns - that's XaXa's turf), and magic to boot. But I've also gotta constantly check, to make sure it's in character for him to do X in Y manner . . it's fun, but I'm looking forward to getting back to original villains. But hey, that's what Apocrypha's for. Peace!**


	6. Aincrad, The Castle Atop Yggdrasil!

Chapter 76: Aincrad; The Castle Atop Yggdrasil!

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _"But . . what about my eating habits?" Tyria asked._

 _"Ah. Yes, I suppose this is where things get more complicated," the Caladrius admitted._

 _~P's E~_

 _As Tyria returned to the group, Pierce noted the shell-shocked expression on her face. "What did you talk about?" he asked with raised eyebrows._

 _"Stuff that I need time to think about," Tyria admitted, and Pierce nodded, accepting this. "Take all the time you need,"_

 _~P's E~_

 _"Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't enjoy that," the blond gently challenged._

 _"I can't," Tyria immediately admitted._

 _"Then what's not to like?" Pierce replied._

 _There was a moment of silence as the girl thought this over. What wasn't to like about this? About any of this?_

 _-[CoT]-_

 _The energy of the time distortion flashed straight into Cubelios, absorbing itself into her scales. The snake's eyes shot open, and she made a spluttering gurgle, like a struggling car, before collapsing to the ground._

 _Sarph, gritting his teeth, flashed an Archive scanner over the afflicted serpent's body. "It appears that Real Nightmare has erased every spell that she's ever been afflicted with from her personal timeline," he observed._

 _Cubelios hissed in horror as her skin receded and her tail collapsed, breaking in half and forming into . . legs? Her head collapsed, teeth falling out and vanishing as purple hair began to materialise on her now scaleless scalp._

 _Within moments, Cubelios had transformed into a human girl._

 _-[CoT]-_

"Laughing Coffin? In my castle?!" Lady Sakuya demanded, outraged. "Sterben! How could you allow this?"

Master Feng, along with Pierce, Eve, Sarph and Hare, were in Lady Sakuya's office, along with the titular noble herself and Sterben. Who was in the middle of being chewed out by his faction leader.

"My most sincere apologies, Lady Sakuya," Sterben gave a respectful bow. "We obviously have a breach in security. I shall investigate the matter personally,"

"See that you do," Sakuya irritably nodded. "Just think, it it weren't for the actions of this brave young woman, the princess would be at the mercy of the most sadistic gang of killers in history!"

Eve, blushing at the praise, tried to resist the urge to preen.

Her wings were gone. They had disappeared about an hour after she had crushed the feather and gained them, by Alice's estimate, and left her dress in a state of significant disrepair. Unfortunately, she didn't have a change of clothes.

"And you let this heroine walk around dressed like a filthy urchin when we have an entire floor filled with armour. I want it seen to that miss Eve is given the run of the armoury. Anything she desires to replace the clothes that Laughing Coffin destroyed during the fight," Sakuya demanded, and Sterben nodded again. "Of course, milady,"

Eve decided not to correct them on the fact that most of the damage to her dress was a result of wings bursting through it rather than anything Laughing Coffin had done.

"Well? Get to it!" the irritated woman commanded, and, bowing again, Sterben left the room. After a moment's indecision, in which Master Feng nodded her assent, Eve chased after him.

"Now," Lady Sakuya's gaze softened considerably as she looked at the three Phoenixes. "You're quite certain that you're alright?" she addressed Hare, who huffed and didn't respond. Sakuya nodded, reassured by the display of defiance that there was indeed nothing wrong with her daughter.

"You and your people have my undying gratitude for all that you have done for my daughter," Sakuya addressed Master Feng, who nodded, looking troubled. "I appreciate your saying that. However, I don't think this is over. When we encountered those Laughing Coffin people, their leader told us that he still intended to capture Hare and take Swilvane,"

"I see. How troubling," Sakuya sighed, her elbows resting on her desk in despondency. "How could this happen? First the Salamanders are breathing down our necks, and now Laughing Coffin is targeting our nation? Is this some sort of cosmic joke?" she groaned.

Suddenly, behind them, the door swung open. Everyone looked up to see Sigurd barge in, flanked by a pair of guards. "If this is a joke, then I shall deliver the _punch_ line," he declared, clapping a fist into his palm. "You're right, milady. If we try to fight two fronts simultaneously, Swilvane will fall,"

"Stating the facts doesn't help, Sigurd," Sakuya, reasserting herself, replied. "Do you have a suggestion?"

"But of course," the man smiled. "I'm going to take a detachment of men, five hundred strong, and use them to completely wipe out Laughing Coffin," His face lit up, as though he expected nothing short of applause at this declaration.

Instead, Sakuya pinched her nose. "Do you honestly think that's a good idea?"

"Well . ." the commander started, but his superior wasn't finished. "All of our military is caught up in ensuring we don't get invaded by the Salamanders. We don't _have_ five hundred men to spare. And even if we did, where do you intend to take them? Laughing Coffin has survived as long as it has because it has always operated from the shadows. No one has ever been able to pinpoint their hideout -"

"Until now!" Sigurd cut across her.

This declaration gave Sakuya pause, and she frowned. "You have the location of Laughing Coffin's hideout? And you did not inform me?"

"I only discovered it recently. I managed to get in contact with a member of the guild who wanted out and was willing to sell out his guildmates in exchange for amnesty," The lies rolled off Sigurd's tongue with ease.

"I see," Sakuya frowned, evidently still displeased, but willing to accept the explanation. "Very well then. Let's hear it," She rose from her desk and crossed to the wall opposite the massive window, and pulled on a rope. With this, a hidden tapestry unrolled, it's lip hitting the floor, revealing itself to be a massive map of Alfheim.

Pierce raised his eyebrows as he took it in, noting the lines that divided the continent into ten regions, and the southwest section that was marked 'Swilvane', directly south of a large bay that sheltered an island marked 'Freelia' and a desert with a citadel in the centre cited as 'Gattan'.

Sigurd strolled over tn the map and jabbed at the centre. "Laughing Coffin is right here,"

His finger hovered over a massive construction, mounted atop a giant tree with a city nestled in its roots, with a single word to label it.

 _'Aincrad'._

"Impossible," Sakuya immediately dismissed the notion.

"Oh, but it isn't," Sigurd evenly retorted.

"Aincrad is a fifty-thousand-metre tall deathtrap! A hundred floors full of monsters and traps and dungeons! People drop like flies in . ." the leader trailed off as the logic of it hit her. "Oh my god, you're right. It _is_ the perfect place for Laughing Coffin to live in,"

"You see?" Sigurd grimly smiled.

"That still doesn't solve the question of manpower," Sakuya frowned.

"Actually, I think we can provide that," Master Feng interrupted. "As I was going to say before," she glowered at Sigurd, "the threats Laughing Coffin made aren't just against Swilvane. They were also against us," she pointed out. "And even if they weren't, they attacked our guild. I won't take that lying down,"

"A reasonable conclusion," Sakuya nodded. "Are you suggesting you intend to volunteer your people to aid in Sigurd's plan?"

"Don't be silly. Our attack on Laughing Coffin is going ahead regardless of what he does. _He's_ volunteering to aid in _our_ plan," Master Feng retorted.

Sigurd looked more than a little upset at this assertion.

Sakuya stifled a chuckle. "Very well," she nodded. "Sigurd, you can have fifty men, as well as however many wizards Phoenix's Eye is willing to send. That should be more than adequate,"

Sigurd looked displeased, but cracked a painful-looking smile. "Very well. I shall gather the troops," he nodded, turning and leaving.

Sakuya watched him go, before looking back at the three Phoenixes. "Are you certain about this? Laughing Coffin . . they're dangerous people,"

"So are we," Pierce grinned, folding his orange-clad arms.

"Somehow, I don't doubt it," Sakuya accepted, turning to her daughter. "Hare . . You're going with them, aren't you?"

Hare regarded her with a contemptuous sneer, before looking to Pierce and pointedly telling him, "Pierce, tell Lady Sakuya that there's no way I'm letting this be after last night,"

Pierce raised an eyebrow at this new level of resentment from Hare, but Lady Sakuya just nodded. "I expected no less. Very well," she nodded in a clear dismissal.

-[CoT]-

"Holy expletive!" Fiona gasped when she saw Eve. "What happened?"

"I, um, need new clothes," the Snow wizard admitted as Fiona pored over the massive holes that had been torn in her dress when her wings manifested.

"I can see that!" Fiona gasped, taking her wrist and pulling her towards the walk-in wardrobes. "Come in, you poor thing," she commanded, clucking like a mother chicken. "Let's get you cleaned up,"

-{ _One Makeover Later . . ._ }-

Soon, Eve was dressed in a completely new set of clothing. She, knowing that she'd eventually need to use the other two feathers and grow her wings again, had requested something that left her back bare, and Fiona had obliged, providing a low-cut white corset with gold trim that clung to her shoulders with purple straps, holding on sleeves that were white above her elbow and purple below. It was complimented by a black dress with more gold trim, which had a handy pouch attached to it for her Celestial Keyring. Completing the image was white knee-high stockings with the ever-present gold trim and black slippers.

"It's a shame I couldn't keep the purple running through the whole setup," Fiona lamented, but Eve shrugged it off. "It's fine,"

"Anyway. That «Twilight Corset» is a little low-level, but it should serve your purpose, and the «Night Sky Raiment» certainly makes up for it, as do the «Starfall Shoes». Still, the stat boosts are kind of all over the place - speed increase, attack strength, _and_ defensive ability? Are you sure you don't want a build that's a bit more focused?" Fiona checked, and Eve nodded. "I'm sort of a mixed bag, so it's all good,"

"If you say so. Now, I do have one more suggestion for you," Fiona slid into another room, and Eve patiently waited.

Soon the armourer was back, clutching a short staff with a circular orb at the top. "I saw those three feathers you kept on you. I assume they're important somehow?" Fiona checked, and Eve nodded to confirm.

"Then you'll certainly want this," she held up the staff, and Eve saw that there were three holes set into the ball on the top. "This is the «Wing Wave Rod», providing minor boosts to speed and mana. But it's supposed to have three feathers at the top," she explained, offering it to Eve, who immediately realised what she was getting at.

Carefully, she withdrew the three feathers from the Divine Caladrius from her pocket, including the blackened and crumpled one that she had used the previous day, and slid each into one of the three holes, feeling magical adhesion sucker them into place. Eve smiled, holding up the feather-crowned staff. "I'll take it,"

-[CoT]-

A little while later, the wizards of Phoenix's Eye were gathered in a spare room. Master Feng presided over the group. "Alright. Is everyone here?" she checked.

Sarph ran a quick headcount and nodded. "I believe so, Master,"

"Excellent. Alright, everyone. For the time being, we'll need to split into three groups!" Feng declared. "Group #1 will be the advance group, led by Lync and consisting of him, Garrotte, Lorus, Wesley and Blanca," The five named wizards looked up, paying attention. "Aluze can seat five, correct?" Master Feng questioned.

"You got it," Lync confirmed. Aluze was Lync's Mechanical Bakugan; a large robotic bird built for speed and capable of magically shrinking into a ball that Lync kept in his pocket. While Aluze was designed to be controlled remotely for combat purposes, it was capable of carrying up to five passengers.

"Excellent. We need to get word back to the guild that we're going to be coming home in the near future. They probably think we're all dead," Feng lamented. "Your duty is to get back home and tell everyone to expect us,"

"You got it," Lync nodded, before casting a glance at Alice, his girlfriend returned the gesture.

"Sorry, but I'm going to need Alice with me in Group #2, as well as Hydranoid, Boomer, Eve, and Donna," Master Feng continued. "We're going to travel to the port of Freelia, where we'll be looking to charter a ship to bring the rest of us home. I already have something in the works to that end, but I'm going to need help to make sure it comes off; in particular, someone capable of grasping the principles of economics. Alice is the best choice in that regard," she explained, and the two were mollified. "Fair enough," the orangette admitted.

"Finally, Group #3 will be led by Pierce, and include Hare, Grace, Artorias, Sarph, Tyria, and Fleur," Master finished, naming the remaining wizards present. Hare hid a smile at the thought that her Guild Master still thought of her as part of her Guild over being a Sylph princess.

"The lot of you will join with Sigurd and his guard detachment to travel to Aincrad, at the centre of Alfheim, and aid in the attack on Laughing Coffin," Feng succinctly finished.

Everyone smiled at that.

Boomer coughed. "Uh, mistress? Why am I not going with Team Pierce?" he asked.

"Two main reasons," she nodded at him. "Aincrad is a massive castle at the top of an even more massive tree. It would be impossible for you to bring the Sonic Boom there. And, speaking of the Sonic Boom, I would have thought you'd want to be there in person to make sure that whatever ship we get is able to carry it,"

Boomer blinked, and nodded. He hadn't thought about that. "Fair enough, Master," he accepted.

Having answered Lync and Boomer's objections, Feng looked around. "Any other objections?"

"Yeah!" a voice piped up as a translucent fox, mostly white with red markings on his face and the tip of his tail, manifested on Pierce's shoulder.

Pierce gasped, flinching away, and caused the yokai to lose his balance, collapsing to the floor. "Kit! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" he demanded.

"Oh, whatever," the spectral fox huffed, before looking up at the Guild Master. "What about me?"

"You're going with Pierce, of course," Feng evenly answered, unsurprised by Kit's interruption.

"Well, that figures," Kit huffed. "Obviously, I have zero agency of my own,"

"Exactly," Pierce agreed with a wry smile. Kit petulantly stuck out his tongue.

"Alright, if everything's settled," Master Feng clapped her hands as the group's reorganised themselves. "Let's get moving,"

-[CoT]-

"Does anyone actually have anything to pack?" Sarph asked an open question to the room's inhabitants. After all, when the Sempiternal Phoenix had sent them forwards in time, they had only brought what was on them and what was in Diamauros - which, other than Boomer's car, the Sonic Boom, mostly consisted of ruins and half-dismantled traps that were left over from the failed S-Class Trials.

"I need to see if Fiona's fixed my coat," Lync pointed out, itching at his scarf. He just couldn't get used to the subpar replacement of his mantle.

Pierce, who had made sure that his flute was still in his Requip space, shrugged. "I'm in the clear,"

Boomer had already left to retrieve the Sonic Boom.

"Our old clothes?" Artorias questioned, holding up the white/red coat he had formerly worn.

Pierce, who was still wearing his old, worn, blue shirt with the Phoenix's Eye logo on it under his «Flame-Licked Parka», and had stowed his shorts in his Requip space, shrugged. "Speak for yourself,"

Suddenly, the door burst open, and everyone was surprised to see the doctor from the palace infirmary. "Master Blastreyne," he nodded respectfully.

"What's the matter?" the Tamer asked.

"Your friend. She's waking up!"

-[CoT]-

Pierce paused directly outside the door. He had rushed downstairs, but suddenly realised that Cubelios might react badly to him showing up scruffy and dishevelled. So he quickly patted down his shirt, pulled off his jacket - Cubelios had never seen it, and he didn't want to disorient her. Best to appear in the same shirt she recognised - checked his hair was serviceable, before calmly walking into the ward.

Immediately he saw her; sitting up and wearily blinking, looking around. Walking quickly but trying not to betray any urgency, he strode up to her and cast her a concerned glance. "Cubelios? How are you feeling?"

The girl owlishly blinked up at him. "Um . . who's Cubelios?"

Pierce blinked too, and raised an eyebrow, ". . You are?"

"No, that's not my name. I remember that much . . but not much else," she murmured, looking down in concern. "Where am I?"

"Um . . how much _do_ you remember?" the boy tried, frowning in concern.

"I know my name . . it's Kinana," she nodded, certain of that.

"Okay, I can work with that . . what else?" Pierce questioned, considering this. It made sense; Cubelios was probably a name that Erik had given her, while Kinana was her original name given to her as a human.

"Um . . something someone told me once," Kinana continued to nod, trying to recall. "Something about . . a star?"

Pierce raised an eyebrow. He didn't remember anything like that. "Really? Must be something Erik told you," he mused. "How about me? Do you remember me?"

Kinana blinked at him owlishly again. "Um . . no?"

Pierce tried not to let the hurt register on his face at this. "Absolutely nothing?"

"Sorry, no . . should I?" the girl questioned.

The Tamer pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I did work with you for three months," he muttered, shaking his head. "Oh, it doesn't matter. I'm sure it'll come back to you eventually,"

"I lost my memory?" Kinana surmised.

"Yeah. But nothing else feels wrong?" he checked.

Kinana looked down at herself, and nodded. "Yeah, I think so," she nodded.

"Well, that's a relief," Pierce smiled. "I hope Erik will take this well," he muttered.

"Who's that?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

"A mutual friend of ours," he nodded.

At that moment, the doctor popped up again. "Ahem. My apologies but you mustn't stay. Too much stress could be detrimental to this poor girl's health," he chastised Pierce, wh frowned at the assertion, but reluctantly accepted that it was logical.

"Don't worry. I'll just take a nice nap, and we can talk more later," Kinana assured him as the doctor drew the curtains around her bed.

"Is she able to be moved?" Pierce immediately asked.

The man frowned. "Possibly. I know you wizards need to return to your homeland, so . . I would prefer to keep her under observation for a couple of days, but after that, I suppose I don't have any right, especially since she seems to be in surprisingly good health,"

"Alright," Pierce nodded in gratitude. "We'll go deal with Laughing Coffin, and then I'll come back for her,"

-[CoT]-

An hour later, Phoenix's Eye had congregated on the edge of the city, watching Lync's group load themselves into Aluze. The massive mechanical bird, with its silver and green paint job and glowing purple eyes, stood ready for departure, its bay doors open.

"I'll see you in a few weeks," Lync and Alice exchanged a final passionate embrace, before breaking away as the Vestal returned to his Bakugan.

After a moment of watching this, Pierce cast a quick glance at Tyria - only to notice that the Electrian was in the process of doing the same thing. Blushing frantically, she tore her eyes away.

Finally, the doors closed and Aluze took off, soaring into the distance. The remainder watched them go, until footsteps alerted them, and Groups #2 and #3 turned to see Sigurd, leading a squadron of what looked closer to thirty men than fifty, marching towards them. "Is everyone ready to go?" he questioned, looking at the Phoenixes with a surly expression that promised consequences for anything other than an affirmative answer.

"Of course," Master Feng evenly retorted, turning away from him and striding down the path. "Come along," she beckoned at the commander over her shoulder, who looked disgusted by the fact that he had to put up with her for the first leg of their journey to Arun.

Due to the fact that Alfheim boasted a massive circle of impassable mountains which enclosed the central plains that held the city of Arun, there were two main routes between Swilvane and Arun. The more direct route was the Lugrue Corridor; an underground, partially-submerged-in-places tunnel that was infested with monsters, and held the town of Lugrue, built on an island in the centre of a subterranean lake.

However, the Valley of the Butterflies, the same place where the Phoenixes had previously battled «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn», was the western pass between Freelia, the territory owned by the Cait Sith tribe, and Arun. Luckily, the Sylphs and the Cait Sith were on friendly relations, enough so that all Sylphs had freedom of passage through Cait Sith territory, including the Valley of Butterflies. The plan was that everyone would travel together until they reached the entrance of the Valley. Then Master Feng and Group #2 would break off and make for Freelia, where they would hopefully find a ship that could take them back to Fiore, while Group #3, led by Pierce, as well as Sigurd and his band of soldiers, would pass through the Valley of the Butterflies and head on to Arun. From Arun, they could climb to the top of the World Tree and reach Aincrad.

At least, that was how Pierce understood the plan. Sigurd, however, seemed to have a differing opinion. "Alright, men! Wings up!" he declared. As one, Sigurd and each of his men pulled a small object out of their belts, attached to a cord, and gripped them in their left hands. With a series of flashes of magical energy, four large, insect-like wings, coloured translucent green, manifested on each man's back.

"Wow!" Grace gasped. "What are those?"

"Standard issue Sylph flight packs. They're issued to each soldier in the Sylph army. That said, I did manage to scrounge up a few old ones for your use," Sigurd offered, gesturing to one of his men, who dumbed a small pile of what looked like leather harnesses on the ground at the Phoenix's feet.

Pierce picked one up and inspected it distastefully. It was moth-eaten, scratched, and looked remarkably unsanitary. A cursory glance revealed that none of the others were any better. "And why exactly would we want to wear these?"

"Well, we'll be flying there. You'll need them to keep up," Sigurd snorted down at him.

"Is that so?" the Beast Tamer frowned. He took one look at Sigurd's expression and realised what was going on; he was intentionally trying to make them put up with bad gear for the sake of asserting superiority. Pierce, of course, would not stand for that. "Everyone?" he turned to his guildmates, who all looked at him expectantly. As one, they shared the sentiment that anything Sigurd could do, they could do better. "Wings up!"

With that, he Requipped his flute and rapidly played the tune to summon Raya, and, in a burst of spectacular flame, his phoenix partner emerged, flapping her wings and landing nearby.

Tyria grinned. "TechType: Jetpack!" she invoked, and her back mechanised into silver metal, steel struts unfolding and giant fans emerging, mounted on her shoulder blades.

Sarph grinned, materialising his Aera.

"Wings of Soulfire," Master Feng commanded, generating massive, flaming wings.

"Who needs to fly?" Boomer grinned, clicking the keys to the Sonic Boom, whose lights flashed in response.

Fleur drew her rapier and brought it up with a flourish, the words 'PETAŁ CYCLONE' flashed down her blade, and a rotating cyclone of petals rose into being around her, creating a lifting effect that carried her into the air as though she were riding a tiny tornado of petals.

Hare snorted. "You honestly think I don't have my own flight harness?" she glared at Sigurd, who shrugged.

However, Alice was the real star. She produced the tiny black sphere that was her partner Bakugan, and, tossing it into the air, declared, "Bakugan; Brawl!" There was a flash of purple light, and suddenly, a massive, three-headed hydra with black scales and menacing horns, wings spread wide, and glistening purple eyes glaring down at Sigurd, manifested before them out of purple energy. "Stand, Darkus Alpha Hydranoid!" Hydranoid alone was easily large enough to carry the entire detachment of the guild.

The adolescent phoenix stood tall over Pierce as he gestured distastefully at the flight harnesses and declared, "We won't be needing those!"

Sigurd could only dumbly nod.

"Alright," Pierce grinned as Raya crouched to allow him and Grace to climb on. "Let's go!"

-[CoT]-

After breaking with the other group at the entrance to the Valley of the Butterflies, the sun was high in the sky as the group flew onwards.

As it had happened, Alfheimic flight harnesses, as much as Sigurd had toted their value as transportation, only carried enough charge at a time for ten minutes of flight, and required a further ten minutes of charge time in the sunlight and/or moonlight before they could go again. Therefore, in spite of the fact that the Phoenixes were good to go for hours, the group had to land and recover every ten minutes.

There was also the minor complication that, when they landed, they were frequently set upon by monsters.

Artorias, wielding his «Sleepless Dream», dropped out of Sarph's arms, as, being the only one in the group with no means of flight, he needed to be carried, and stabbed a «Berserk Peryton» in the back of the neck. The monster, a stag-like creature with the head and wings of an owl - though the wings were ornamental, and too small to enable flight - who had, along with his compatriots, been following them from the ground, squawked in surprise. Artorias ripped his sword out of the monster, shifted the «Sleepless Dream» into a hammer, and brought it down on the second creature's head.

"Do we have to kill them?" Pierce questioned from Raya's back as the Blood Wizard eviscerated the remainder of the «Berserk Perytons». "What did they do to us?"

"They would have killed us without a second thought," Sigurd rumbled, glaring at the Tamer.

"So what? We have to be better than them, then," Pierce snorted as Artorias removed the last one and the group landed. With a flash of light a small pile of gold as well as several steaks and a satchel that looked like it had been made out of the Perytons' hides appeared at Artorias' feet, and the Blood wizard scooped up the money, before removing the steaks from the grass. "Anyone hungry?" he questioned.

"Yes please!" Grace, ever on the search for more food to sustain her accelerated metabolism, eagerly leapt at the chance for a second lunch.

Picking up the bag, Artorias took two of the steaks for himself, one as a snack and one to save for later, and inspected the bag. "Oh, that's convenient," he observed, finding an insulated pocket for the storage of food, and tucking the steak into it.

"Maintain guard. We could get more any time," Sigurd declared, and several of his guards nodded, breaking off and establishing a patrol.

Raya gave a blast of flame from her beak, quick-cooking the steaks for Grace and Artorias to eat, and Pierce playfully glared at her as she snatched a chunk of venison from the top of the stack. "You traitor,"

"Sorry," the bird retorted through a mouthful of steak. "Can't hear you over how delicious this is,"

-[CoT]-

"You know," Sarph commented as they stopped at one point on their journey, "you still haven't explained what the story here is,"

Hare glared at him, and said nothing.

"If you're the princess of Swilvane, why did you leave? And why do you hate your mother so much?" the knight questioned, placing his hands on his hips.

"No," Hare simply responded with an angered scowl.

Sarph blinked. "What?"

"What do you think asking questions like that is gonna get you?" Hare demanded. "Some sob story? A long-winded monologue? Maybe a flashback? Like hell!" she snapped. "I was there when Boomer offloaded all that crap about his parents and their pet demon. I sat through all Tyria's Compendium shit. I _helped_ when we yanked Grace's scrawny ass out of that Crypt's Spawn place. And if I have to sit through Pierce rattling on about his old man one more time, I'll hurl," she growled.

"But -" the man started, however, the woman wasn't having any of it. "Look. I'm Hare. I'm a Phoenix's Eye wizard. That's the only thing that matters," Hare snapped. And with that, she span on her heel and strode away.

-[CoT]-

It was as the moon began to rise in the sky, a clustering nebula of lights amongst a massive, looming form, that they beheld it. "There it is," Hare commented, her usual veil of disdain dropped by the spectacle that was before her.

"The city of Arun," Sarph agreed. "How amazing,"

Fleur just shrugged. It could be that she just had bad night vision, but all she could see was a mess of little yellow lights.

"Of course," Sigurd cut across the conversation, once again making an effort to put himself in the focus. "That's not our destination. Our goal is up there," he declared, gesturing to the top of the massive tree that loomed above the capital city of Alfheim.

Squinting, the Phoenixes did their best to look upwards, above the incredible tree that , even from kilometres away, dominated the skyline. All they could see, though, was the blackness of the night sky.

But then Pierce spotted it. The darkness to the left and right of the tree was just a little lighter than the night above. Squinting, he managed to pick out the slight difference, and took a closer look at the area of the night sky above Yggdrasil, the World Tree.

And it was then that he comprehended it; an impossibly massive building, made of dozens of concentric circles that were stacked together in the shape of a giant egg, so vast that he had mistaken its silhouetted form for part of the night sky, and the twinkling lights that shone out of random locations in its girth for stars. It was nestled in the branches at the very top of the World Tree and dwarfed its support, with a dozen spires extending from struts around its circumference for stability. "No way," he shook his head, disbelieving. "That's not possible . . how could anyone build something so huge?"

Sigurd smirked, happy to have finally found something about Alfheim that Pierce was amazed by. " _That_ , is Aincrad,"

-[CoT]-

After one final burst of flight, the Phoenixes, as well as Sigurd and his men, had flown up the massive tree and reached a narrow platform that spanned the circumference of Aincrad's outer wall. "Come on," Sigurd declared as soon as everyone had landed on the road-like walkway and Pierce had recalled Raya. "We need to get to the warp gate,"

In an instant, Artorias was beside him. "What's a warp gate?"

In response, the Sylph commander gestured to the massive castle before them, stretching up into the night sky. "Look at this place. You think anyone would ever be able to get around in there if they had to walk everywhere?"

"He has a point," Tyria murmured, overawed by the sheer scale of the massive colossus whose exterior they were standing on. It absolutely dwarfed the Alternative Weapons System - the space station that she had destroyed a little over six years ago - which she had thought impossibly vast at the time.

"I've seen entire _nations_ smaller than this place," Artorias quietly agreed.

"Whoever built this place realised that. So they created a bunch of things called warp gates and put one on every floor of the castle, as well as one on the outside so people could get in," Sigurd explained. "We need to get to the warp gate, and then we can take it to the Town of Beginnings. They can put us up there for the night, and we'll get cracking on this business of hunting down Laughing Coffin first thing in the morning,"

After a few minutes of walking, the party, Sigurd leading two columns of soldiers, with the Phoenixes strewn along them in a ragtag bunch, reached a semicircular platform that jutted out from the side of the castle. Upon it was a raised dais, with steps leading up to a circular marble construction, like a massive ring set into the stone.

"That's the warp gate?" Sarph questioned, raising his eyebrows. "Incredible,"

"Maybe," Sigurd shrugged, not at all enamoured with something that he had seen multiple times already. "Come on, men," he declared, leading his people towards the gate.

Stepping into it, the man declared, "Town of Beginnings!" - and, with a sudden flash, the man vanished. The Phoenixes started in surprise, but the warriors had obviously been expecting this and, one by one, they followed suit. Eventually, the seven Phoenixes were all that remained.

"Well, we can't stand here forever," Pierce decided, stepping forward. Everyone watched as he stood in the centre of the gate and shouted; "Town of Beginnings!"

There was a flash, and the world was gone.

-[CoT]-

Pierce stumbled out of an identical warp gate in a different place, within the walls which he had been standing just outside seconds ago.

Looking around, he gathered his bearings. He was standing in some kind of town square, with a sprawling village extending in every direction. A night sky twinkled above, which was strange, and one topside of the townwas completely enclosed by a massive wall that stretched up to the heavens . . wait. The wall didn't just reach into the sky. The wall met the sky with a join. But how could that be? Unless . . Pierce squinted and took a closer look at the 'sky'. And then he saw it; the sky was actually a massive black ceiling, with several twinkling lights attached to mimic stars. It was fake! Meaning that he had to be _inside_ the castle of Aincrad . . this was incredible. This entire castle was incredible. And this was only the first of one hundred floors? Were they all as big as this one?

He stepped out of the warp gate, and almost as soon as he did, Tyria appeared behind him, looking slightly panicked.

"Are you alright?" Pierce questioned, and Tyria nodded, taking his wrist and clutching it as though she felt he was liable to disappear into thin air at any moment. "I saw you disappear and, um, I panicked a little," she admitted.

"Oh. Alright," he smiled. Their eyes met, and a faint flush crept across Tyria's cheeks -

And then Sarph shouldered his way out of the warp gate. "Well, that was exhilarating," The two younger wizards broke away and turned to him,

"Are you all quite done?" Sigurd questioned, and the three turned to see him at the base of the dais, heading his columns of troops. "Tell your friends to find somewhere to stay for the night, and we'll meet back here at nine o'clock in the morning!" he declared, striding away. His men followed him, and as the remainder of the Phoenixes emerged from the gate, they were soon left alone in the warp gate plaza.

"Well, everyone, it looks like we need a place to sleep for the night," Pierce addressed the group. "Can anyone see an inn?"

Fleur whistled, getting everyone's attention, and gestured to a building down a side street, in the opposite direction to which Sigurd had left, with a sign hanging from above the door that read "Black Iron Bar,"

"Iron bar," Sarph snorted in amusement. "That's a good one,"

"Worth a look," Pierce nodded, leading the group off the dais and towards the tavern.

Minutes later, the seven were standing within, before a bleary-eyed little man. "You lot are lucky you came when you did; I was just about to close up for the night. Seven people, was it? That's three boys and four girls . . are any of you dating?"

"Um," Pierce, stealing a glance at Tyria again, didn't know what to say to that. Should he say they weren't? But what if she took it as a rejection and didn't want to be with him anymore? But if he said they were, and she wasn't ready, then he'd come off as being too forward and might scare her away . . .

"No one is at the point of sleeping in the same room," Sarph decided for them. Tyria had no idea how to feel about this.

"Oh," The innkeeper room note of Pierce's hesitance, and the flush that had crept across Tyria's cheeks. "You haven't seen her naked yet, eh?"

Both involved parties spluttered in shock at this blatant accusation, but the man was already scrawling something down. "Alright. Three rooms then, two for the ladies and one for the men. Sound good?"

"By all means," Artorias agreed.

"Okay," Pierce, recovering, nodded, spotting the stairs and striding towards them. "Come on, everyone. We'll be up early tomorrow. Gotta get as much sleep as we can," he declared.

With murmurs of assent on the part of everyone except Fleur, his teammates nodded and trooped in after him.

Upon arriving upstairs, they discovered that the rooms were, in fact, each capable of housing three people. While it was obvious that Pierce, Sarph and Artorias would take a single room between them, there was a little contention over how the female members of the group would sleep.

Namely, Fleur was nervous about sleeping in the same room as Hare.

But Tyria's stomach growled, in the way that she had come to associate with needing to consume some kind of technology.

"Can I take the other room? By myself?" she asked the other girls. "I, um . . need some privacy,"

Grace looked at her embarrassed expression, then cast a glance at the boy's room. "Okay," she giggled, nodding encouragingly, before stepping into the other room. Hare and Fleur immediately reached the same conclusion. "Eh. If that's _really_ what you want," Hare dispassionately shrugged.

Fleur pursed her lips, casting a slightly nervous look at Hare, before turning back to Tyria. Sure, Hare hadn't been particularly mean to her since arriving in Alfheim, and she probably wasn't liable to kill her in her sleep . . and Tyria _obviously_ wanted the privacy so that she could talk to Pierce . . oh, alright. She nodded, following Grace. Hare cast her one last look of skepticism, shrugged, and joined the other two. Tyria sighed in relief, taking the other room.

Once she was alone, the Electrian fished several machine parts that she'd bought in the Swilvane markets out of her pockets and bit into one. It was an odd flavour, one she hadn't tried before, slightly spicy. But anything to fill her gut was good enough, and she tucked in all the same, doing her best only to eat as much as she needed. After all, who knew when she'd be able to resupply?

Having swallowed three gears, a camera lens, and an odd rectangular box that was full of gears and circuits and had several attachment ports on the sides, Tyria's metal-digesting stomach was sated for the time being.

So the Electrian lay on her back and thought. Of course, it took only minutes for her thoughts to turn to the issue they'd been dancing around for days. _Pierce_.

 _What wasn't to like?_ The question had been haunting her thoughts since it had been posed. And she couldn't deny it anymore. She loved Pierce, in a way she'd never loved anyone. And, on that day in Diamauros, and the way he'd been skittering around every discussion with her ever since, he clearly felt the same.

Her thoughts briefly turned to Electria. Did she really have any right to be thinking about something so selfish as love when her home could be in ruins?

No, Tyria chided herself. There was nothing she could do about Electria in her current situation. She'd find out soon enough. And . . what would she do if she were to discover, in the near future, that her homeland had indeed been destroyed by the Alvarez Empire? She'd need _some_ way to cope, she knew that much about herself.

She wanted him. She loved him. It was that simple. Right?

-[CoT]-

Pierce had settled down and was preparing himself for the second sequential, and likely not the last, night he had spent without a change of clothes - not that that was anything new. At least he had a bed to sleep on. Though it was a bit of a shame that the tavern didn't have a bath or even a shower. He kind of stank after the day's exertions, though he knew no one else was any better. His orange jacket, the «Flame-Licked Parka», was hung over the end of his bed, along with his blue undershirt, and he had changed back into his old shorts as impromptu sleeping gear, and taken off the «Ember Walkers», leaving his chest and feet bare.

And then there was a soft knock at the door, which cracked open. A familiar blue eye peered at him, and he raised his eyebrows as Tyria hissed, "Pierce? Can we talk? Alone?"

The Tamer cast glances at the other two boys in the room, who of course had heard the voice. Sarph nodded encouragingly, and Artorias made a shooing motion.

Nodding, the boy rose from his bed and stepped through the door, shutting it behind him and turning to face Tyria. "Are you alright?" he gently questioned.

Momentarily taken by Pierce's naked chest, it took a second for the girl to register the question. Once she had, though, she gripped his wrist and pulled him into her room, swinging the door shut behind them and ensuring their privacy.

Tyria turned and gazed at his hazel eyes. "I've made up my mind," she simply said, their eyes meeting.

"Yeah?" Pierce whispered.

"I want this," she nodded, and, in a sudden explosive motion - because she feared that if she held back for even a second longer, she might never work up the nerve to make a move again - Tyria threw herself forward, taking advantage of every ounce of strength she had to throw Pierce back onto one of the beds as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and kissed him passionately, intimately, releasing every ounce of pent-up tension. For his part, Pierce was already returning the kiss before he'd even consciously realised he was, tracing the hem of her «Daybreak Corset» and running his fingers through her ponytail, enjoying the warm feel of her skin against his as her supple fingers traced his shoulder blades and massaged the knots that had built up there.

For long minutes, there was nothing in the world for either but themselves and each other, finally sating the desires they had both held for months.

Finally, they separated.

"So," Pierce murmured, the fingers of his right hand still pressed against the back of her neck.

"So," Tyria agreed, her sudden surge of bravado having all but deserted her. "Did you, um . . enjoy that?"

The boy's smile widened. "If I didn't, do you think I'd want to do this?" he declared, pulling her back on for another passionate kiss. Tyria moaned in pleasure as her lips met his again and he rolled her onto her back, pressing down on her with his body weight. The ribbon that held her hair in its ponytail came loose, and Pierce stroked it as his girlfriend's electric blue hair fell around their faces.

They were suddenly interrupted by a gurgling noise from beneath them. Tyria squeaked, breaking away, and looked down at her offending stomach. No, not now. Not when she'd finally . . wait. Maybe her stomach was trying to tell her something?

"You didn't get enough dinner when we stopped at that village, did you?" Pierce gently teased.

"I guess not," Tyria shook her head.

"I'm pretty sure Artorias has some left over Peryton meat," Pierce looked a little salty at the thought - he was still against the necessity of killing beasts - but the girl who had just become his lover took priority.

"No, it's . . not that kind of hunger," the tech wizard admitted. Well, it was now or never. "R-remember Electria? When I merged with Teslon's power grid and gained TechType Mark Infinity?"

"The powered-up form you can't use without a massive external power source. I recall," Pierce assured her.

"That's not all it did . . it awakened something in me. Something that might have lain dormant all my life, but now it's activated and I'm stuck with it," Tyria continued.

The Tamer raised his eyebrows inquisitively.

"Look," She reached into her bag, pulled out a slightly rusted gear and, frowning, used her fingernail to pick the specks of rust off, before bringing it to her mouth and biting into it. Pierce let out a small gasp, expecting the metal to shatter her teeth, but instead they cleaved through it like butter. Tyria chewed for a moment, then swallowed. "It's been happening since we got back," she quietly admitted. "I was keeping it a secret, but . . I don't want secrets between us,"

"Well, I'm happy you told me," Pierce smiled indulgently at her, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and bringing her in close. "Seriously, though. Why did you think that's a big deal? Look at Grace,"

"Yeah, but she only eats reality when she absolutely has to. Me, I need it, all the time,"

"Okay, but I still don't get why is this a big deal," the boy questioned.

"Because, back on Mount Zheng, the Caladrius told me something," Tyria began, relating the revelation that the Divine Caladrius had shared with her in privacy.

When she was finished, Pierce was dumbfounded. "Wow. That's . . I never would have guessed,"

"I know," the Electrian murmured, looking down. "I don't think anyone could. But it does explain why Headmaster Atsphuria was always so protective of me,"

"Well, I don't think it matters much. You're Tyria Zechtian. And that's what I love about you," Pierce smiled, before bringing her in for another kiss; one she gladly reciprocated.

-[CoT]-

The sound of a door being thrown open startled the two newly minted lovers out of the peaceful slumber they had fallen into at some point, and Pierce and Tyria sleepily looked up, expecting to find one of their guildmates telling them that it was morning and they had to get up.

Instead, a skull mask with glowing red eyes glowered down at them. "For the love of - put some pants on!" Red-Eyed XaXa of Laughing Coffin shrilly commanded, pointing at Tyria, who, with a gasp, recalled that, earlier that night, she had undone her corset, leaving her clad only in her shirt and underwear.

"Oh, um - wait!" Before she could get embarrassed, a thought suddenly occurred to the Electrian.

RED-EYED XAXA WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN HER ROOM.

 _-[CoT]-_

 _"It's time for a very special episode of Doctor Kit's Documentaries!" Kit declared. Strangely, instead of the usual blackboard, he was standing in front of a massive movie screen. "Unfortunately, it's one I have little part in,"_

 _"Simply put, the author is aware that the in-universe lore as to how Aincrad came to be in Sword Art Online is difficult to piece together, and it took her quite a while to work it out. So, we_ could _give you readers a massive mess of exposition._ Or _, we could show you a brief documentary we've cut together on how it came to be!" the yokai explained, darting off-screen. The 'click' of a button being pressed was heard, and the film started rolling._

 _-[CoT]-_

Long ago, there was a god. An omnipotent being who watched over the land of Alfheim. His name was Kayaba.

He looked over the land and saw that it was full of brave warriors and powerful wizards, and decided that he wanted to test the bravest and the mightiest. So he set about creating the ultimate challenge.

Taking his weapon, the Holy Sword «Liberator», Kayaba travelled around the world and cut from the ground ninety-nine circles, taking equal representation of all walks of life. Some were deserts, some were swamps, some were island chains cut from the ocean, some even were taken from the underground. Some of these circles were as large as ten kilometres in diameter, some were less than three. But all floors had at least one settlement on them; a place for the people that maintained their regions to live, and for adventurers to lay their heads. Kayaba took all of these and arranged them on top of one another. And, at the very top, he placed his own dwelling, the «Ruby Palace», so that it might be the hundredth Floor of the castle.

Then, on each of the ninety-nine Floors, taking inspiration from the exploits of the Magi, he built a structure known as a dungeon; a gauntlet of trials, full of monsters and traps, that adventurers would have to surpass if they wanted to ascend to the next Floor of the castle. For ease of travel between Floors that had already been unlocked, he also constructed one hundred and one warp gates; one on each Floor, and one on the outside to permit access to the castle. At each dungeon, too, he placed two boss monsters; one to guard the entrance to the dungeon, and one to guard the final floor, as the final obstacle questers must surmount to reach the next Floor.

He built walls to bind the Floors together, and to prevent anyone from cheating by attempting to skip a Floor with the power of flight. He filled each of the ninety-nine Floors with monsters and treasures, and enchanted the monsters, that they would reappear periodically should someone kill them, and that anyone who killed them should be rewarded with money and treasure. He released several of these enchanted monsters into the land of Alfheim, to test his creations, and they performed admirably, as did the warriors who killed them for the loot they 'dropped'. And, once his castle was complete, he suspended it in the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere for a hundred years so that the people trapped within each of the Floors would grow accustomed to life within his castle.

And, once his castle was complete, he returned it to Earth Land, nestled it amongst the branches of Yggdrasil, and made it known that the Floating Castle was ready for anyone who wished to try their luck at achieving fame and fortune within its walls.

And, under Kayaba's watchful eye, the castle was christened "Aincrad".

A/N

 **A/N**

 **So, what's Tyria's big secret? Only time will tell. ;)**

 **And I honestly promise you that it will not take quite so long between now and the big reveal. I currently have it scheduled for the beginning of Grand Magic Games at the latest. Which means we only have to get through the rest of Princess of Lies and Key of the Starry Skies - and the Phoenixes will only be around for the second half of that arc anyway, so it'll probably only be three or four chapters. Like Phantom Lord way back when. - until we find out. It'll probably happen in time for the Chapter 100 Q/A.**

 **Speaking of which, I suppose it's time that I made it official. Chapter 100 will be another Q/A chapter, just like Chapter 50 was! I feel like the mistake I made last time was not giving people enough notice - only two months to think of and pose questions. But this time, I'm letting the readership know** ** _twenty-three_** **chapters in advance. So you hear that? Y'all have no excuse whatsoever not to give me plenty of questions. And, frankly, there should be plenty to ask the Phoenixes and co. about just in the aftermath of the S-Class Trials, let alone all the crazy stuff that's gonna go down in Alfheim very soon. Peace.**


	7. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - Um Wolves

Chapter 77: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - Um. Wolves.

 **A/N: A couple of small retcons have been made to this chapter.**

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _The sound of a door being thrown open startled the two newly minted lovers out of the peaceful slumber they had fallen into at some point, and Pierce and Tyria sleepily looked up, expecting to find one of their guildmates telling them that it was morning and they had to get up._

 _Instead, a skull mask with glowing red eyes glowered down at them. "For the love of - put some pants on!" Red-Eyed XaXa of Laughing Coffin shrilly commanded, pointing at Tyria, who, with a gasp, recalled that, earlier that night, she had undone her corset, leaving her clad only in her shirt and underwear._

 _"Oh, um - wait!" Before she could get embarrassed, a thought suddenly occurred to the Electrian._

 _RED-EYED XAXA WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN HER ROOM._

 _-[CoT]-_

Pierce, however had more presence of mind than Tyria, and was already shouting; "Everyone -"

"Yatto zabukke nushlavu jan!" XaXa invoked, and a blast of magic struck Pierce, causing him to collapse back onto the bed, his shout dying on his tongue as the Silence effect kicked in.

"Why, you - TechType: Tectonics!" Tyria shouted, shifting her fist into a massive mechanical club and punching the Coffin into the other wall.

Pierce picked himself up, and she looked at him expectantly. He tried to speak once again, but his tongue felt like lead and the words wouldn't articulate. So he settled for a thumbs up. Was this how Fleur felt all the time?

Tyria sighed in relief, seeing that her boyfriend was alright, before hastily strapping her corset back on and donning the «Sunrise Cloak», as well as slipping her feet into the «Obsidian Soles». Pierce, after checking to make sure that XaXa wasn't moving, returned to his room to grab his own gear and wake up the boys, while Tyria did the same for the remainder of the girls.

As soon as Pierce burst back out of the room, he found a gun levelled at his chest.

The glowing red eyes of XaXa's skull mask twinkled with menace. "You should be honoured. You get to die by the hand of my «Type 54 "Black Star"»," he grinned. "It's my favourite weapon, you know,"

"Keep your filthy hands -" A large, blue, metal fist threw XaXa towards the stairs, revealing Tyria, frothing with rage. "Off my boyfriend!" she shouted.

There was a brief pause as the two realised that little slip had been heard by all of their guildmates.

"Well, it took you long enough," Artorias snorted, bobbing his red-haired head and folding his arms.

Fleur silently chuckled.

Footsteps interrupted any more discussion of the topic, and the Phoenixes looked up to see XaXa trying to escape down the stairs.

"After him! Take Over: Werewolf Soul!" Pierce invoked, letting his body burst out in silver fur as his muscles rippled and went taut, and the transformed wizard shot like a spring after the assassin, with five of his guildmates in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, as XaXa reached the bottom of the stairs and wrested the door open, Grace appeared from a rift in reality above him. "Yah!" she shouted, trying to fall on top of him with reality rippling around her fists - but XaXa reacted too quickly for her, leaping out of the way and taking off down the street.

With a blur, Hare shot past them both as Grace landed and hastily stepped aside to allow her guildmates passage.

Leaving everyone in the dust, Hare shot down the street in hot pursuit of the assassin - until she spotted a familiar blond man in green armour on the street. She skidded to a halt and glared at Sigurd, who looked very confused. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to check on all of you," the man explained. "Was that Red-Eyed XaXa?"

Pierce, who had now caught up, nodded at him. "And he's getting away!" he declared, continuing to run.

"Like hell," Hare snorted, kicking her Speed Magic up again. Nodding, Sigurd followed her - until gunshots rang out, forcing the three to skitter to a halt, as XaXa had unslung his «Accuracy International L115A3» and was launching suppressive fire.

Pierce took a second to review his Take Overs. Phoenix feathers, kraken skin - of course! "Take Over: Qilin Soul!" he commanded, drawing on the strength of Cor, a qilin he had tamed, this time. His fur disappeared as crystalline ruby scales covered his body and black plumage ran down his spine, while his short, canine tail was replaced with one that was long and draconic, with a tuft of black fur at the end. Pierce's eyes, now the smouldering red of burning coals, fixed on XaXa and he charged forwards, taking advantage of the incredible speed qilins possessed and trusting Cor's scales to protect him.

Behind him, Tyria caught up and commanded; "TechType: Force Field!" Her left hand mechanised and projected a large blue shield, which she contoured to fit around Hare and Sigurd. "Follow me!" she declared, leading the rest of the group in her wake.

But their solutions came too late, and, by the time Pierce was catching up, XaXa was already standing in the warp gate. "Frostburgh!" he shouted, and, with a flash, he vanished.

Pierce drew up short, allowing the others to catch up. "We need to go after him," he declared.

"What? No," Sigurd protested. "We should follow the plan and wait until morning,"

"Well, if that's what _you_ want to do, then I'm certain that we should go after him now," Hare snorted.

"No," the Tamer cautioned Sigurd. "If we wait, then what's to stop him from trying again?" Pierce questioned as his Take Over melted away. "And maybe next time, he'll bring his friends,"

"He's right," Sarph shrugged. "We shouldn't wait,"

"He went to the 28th floor, which probably means he's headed back to Laughing Coffin's base," Sigurd informed them. "Frostburgh is the name of the town with a Warp Gate on the 28th floor, and my source told me that Laughing Coffin is holed up in the 28th floor dungeon," he added to clarify.

"Unless he knows that we know that, and he wants us to think that he's retreating to get us to lower our guard," Sarph pointed out. "When was the last time you heard from your source?"

Sigurd didn't respond, simply squirming uncomfortably.

"I didn't think so," the knight snorted. "In that case, we have to assume that they've been caught, and that Laughing Coffin knows we'll be coming for them,"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Pierce cautioned him. "But if XaXa is allowed to get back to the rest of Laughing Coffin, they'll know we're here. Which means that if we want to maintain the element of surprise, we have to catch up and stop him,"

Sigurd couldn't argue with that logic. "At least let me get my men,"

"No. That'll take too long," Pierce shook his head.

"But we might need the support," the golden knight pointed out.

The Tamer shot him an almost scandalised look. "We're Phoenix's Eye. Since when have we needed an army to fight our battles?" he demanded.

Sarph blinked, his eyebrows furrowed, and he nodded. "You're right. Well, let's go!" he declared, eager to make up for his mistake. Pierce grinned, and, before Sigurd could voice any further objections, he leapt into the Warp Gate and shouted; "Frostburgh!" With a flash, he vanished.

Hare sped past the others and was next, shooting Sigurd a dirty glance as she declared, "Frostburgh!"

The Sylph commander could only watch as the Phoenixes disappeared into the gate, each flash of light bringing his plans closer and closer to a grinding halt.

Finally, Fleur, the last one, was gone, and Sigurd gritted his teeth, repressing the urge to scream. Those Fioreans were such a massive pain in his backside! Nothing had gone right since they arrived. Nothing!

He groaned, knowing he had no choice if he had any hope of things going how they were supposed to. Checking his wing harness, he lifted himself onto the dais with a brief burst of flight, and, balancing within the massive ring, declared; "Frostburgh!"

-[CoT]-

When they emerged, flecks of snow hit their faces.

"We should have expected cold weather with a name like 'Frostburgh'," Sarph muttered.

Fleur groaned silently. Her clothes were not built for snow.

"Wait. We are _inside a building_. Even if it is massive. How can it be snowing?" Tyria questioned, looking around in confusion.

"I'll make sure to ask Eve next time we see her," Artorias pointed out, hugging his loose-fitting shirt tight to ensure that snow didn't get inside his clothes.

"It doesn't matter," Pierce brushed off the snow, and gestured to a set of footprints in the layer of white fluff, which were already disappearing under the snowfall. "We have to get moving,"

It was then that Sigurd emerged from the warp gate, already shivering. "You're all idiots," he growled at the Phoenixes.

"Oi!" Hare barked, dashing forwards and slapping him in the face, before returning to the group. "You don't get to call my idiots idiots!"

"Wow. I didn't know you cared," Sarph commented, and the Speed wizard just glared daggers at him.

"Come on, we have to move," Pierce declared, leading the charge to follow the footprints through the streets of Frostburgh. His guildmates followed eagerly, and Sigurd grudgingly accompanied them, drawing his sword in preparation for a fight.

But no such fight was forthcoming, as, after running through the streets of Frostburgh for ten minutes, they reached the edge of the town - and the footprints just ended.

"Damnit. The trail's gone cold," Pierce shook his head, turning to his guildmates. "Now what?"

Several of them suppressed chuckles. "That was a horrible pun," Sarph advised, and Pierce, suddenly realising what he had said, snorted. "It was a complete accident,"

"It doesn't matter. I have the location of their hideout, remember? We know where he's going," Sigurd declared, stepping forwards with his typical stern expression plastered over his face.

"The 28th floor dungeon, right?" Sarph checked. "Can you lead us there?"

"I suppose so," Sigurd sighed. "Be warned, though, it's a bit of a trek. And we may well be beset upon by monsters along the way,"

"So what?" Tyria challenged. "We're Phoenix's Eye,"

-[CoT]-

The first half-hour of the journey was uneventful, but, at more-or-less the halfway mark of the trip from Frostburgh to the Floor 28 Dungeon, they reached the edge of a forest.

"So, one half of Floor 28 is open snowy tundra, while the other half is a big forest. And the dungeon is in the middle of the forest," Sarph guessed.

Sigurd, who had been about to explain this in the most superior manner possible, snorted. "Yes," he sniffed.

"Is that the massive tower over there?" Grace questioned, gesturing to something on the skyline. Craning their necks, the Phoenixes saw a huge pillar that looked to be made of ice-encrusted snow, reaching up from a distant point in the forest until it vanished into the snowy white clouds that shed flakes of frost to coat the trees.

". . . Yes," the Sylph admitted through gritted teeth. "Though this forest is infested with monsters. And it's been a while since any raid parties have visited this dungeon, so it's possible, even likely, that the Field Boss has respawned,"

"Field Boss?" Artorias questioned.

Smiling in triumph, Sigurd opened his mouth to explain - but Sarph beat him to it. "Remember «Thew, the Four-Armed Jinn»? Aincrad is full of bosses like him. And each Floor Dungeon, like this one, has two. One guarding the entrance, and one guarding the exit that leads up to the next floor," he clarified. "Of course, they've both been defeated already, but the monsters in Aincrad are immortal; created by the guy who built this place so that adventurers and challengers could test their skills against them more than once,"

"And," Sigurd irritably interjected, "since -"

"Since this Floor is full of snow, while other Floors are actually fairly pleasant, adventurers usually prefer to challenge bosses on other Floors. Meaning that there's good odds no one's been here in a while, and therefore we're probably going to have to deal with the boss at the entrance," Hare succinctly interjected, enjoying the expression of repressed rage on Sigurd's face.

"Yes. Exactly," he growled.

"Well, if the boss has been fought and defeated before, then people know what it is and how it fights, right?" Pierce checked.

"Just a second," Sarph nodded, manifesting an Archive screen.

"We can walk while you look it up. The rest of us can guard you, right?" Pierce continued, and the other five nodded. "Great. Let's move,"

-[CoT]-

There were a few skirmishes with «Dire Wolves», which Pierce had rather mixed feelings about, and a brief battle in which they had to repel an «Evergreen Ent», but there was nothing that posed a serious threat, and soon the path emerged into a large clearing. Oddly, there was no snow on the ground of the clearing, and, at the far end, was a massive wall of stone with a large door set in it.

"That's the dungeon," Sigurd commented, rather unnecessarily.

"Then where's the boss?" Grace questioned. The grey ribbons on the back of her «Dragonwing Dress» fluttered as she turned around, searching for it.

"It'll only appear when we enter the clearing," the military man snorted.

"It's name is «Waheela, the Black Wolf»," Sarph began, spinning an Archive Screen around and showing a blurry picture of a snarling black wolf with glowing red eyes.

"A wolf? Really?" Pierce moaned.

Everyone cast concerned glances at him, with the exception of Sigurd. Even Hare raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips.

The Beast Tamer wizard sighed. He loved wolves - he _became_ a wolf on a regular basis. How was he supposed to justify fighting and killing one, even an immortal one that would come back to life within a couple of weeks?

"It's alright, Pierce. You can sit out of this one," Tyria reassured him, and Sarph nodded. "It should be fine,"

"Wuss," Sigurd huffed, folding his arms. Hare promptly slapped him again. "Shut up, you,"

"Well, we can't wait," Sarph took point. "We can expect adds, just like those «Jinn Brawlers» from when we fought Thew," he began. "Since this boss' thing is that she's a mother wolf, they'll be, well,"

"Wolf children?" Hare guessed, a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"Yes," .Sarph nodded. "According to these notes, Waheela likes to charge around and kick out with her hind legs, so don't try to attack from behind. Initially, she has little defence against aerial assault, but she has state changes too; either she'll rear up on her hind legs and start throwing wolves into the air, or dig into the ground and attack from beneath,"

"Wolves can dig?" Grave blinked.

"This one can," Sigurd nodded, determined to get a word in edgeways. "We need to establish raid groups. Split into two, one group to engage the boss, one group to keep the adds off," he continued. "I, of course, will lead the boss engagement group,"

"Are you kidding?" Artorias blinked.

"Do you really think that we can't take care of ourselves?" Tyria added, frowning. "Maybe your lot need some big, fancy, battle plan, full of militaristic discipline, but us? We handle ourselves and trust each other to watch our backs. If we see openings, we take them. Forget set roles and jobs and orders. We're not an _army_. We're Phoenix's Eye," she huffed.

"And even if we did, like hell we'd put you in charge," Hare spat.

Sigurd blinked, taken aback by the brash confidence that the group all seemed to share. "I can see why you like these people. They're all just as insane as you are," he snorted at the other Sylph, who mirrored his contempt. "Very well. We'll try it your way. But if we all die, I'm not liable," he rolled his eyes.

"Everyone ready?" Sarph questioned, and, after a series of nods, he drew «Tenshi Meiyo» and strode into the clearing, shouting, "Then let's go!"

The others followed, grouping together and watching all sides as they advanced towards the centre of the clearing.

"Anyone see anything?" Sarph questioned.

"No," Artorias murmured.

"I'm gonna get a bird's eye view," Grace declared, tearing open a rift directly in front of her and stopping through it, materialising fifty metres above the clearing, clinging to a small ledge on the edge of the wall of the dungeon that towered above them. She looked down, scouring the area, before shrugging and leaping back into another rift.

"Anything?" Sarph questioned as she landed back in the group.

Grace shrugged, shaking her head. "Sorry, but I cou -"

There was a sudden cracking noise.

Everyone drew up in shock as a break appeared in the wall of the dungeon, directly above the door. And then an _absolutely massive_ wolf smashed through the frozen wall from within the dungeon and landed before the group.

«Waheela, the Black Wolf» was twice as tall as Sarph or Sigurd, almost thirteen feet at the shoulder. Her body was covered in matted black fur, and her ears were slitted back against her head. Her teeth were parted in a snarl that revealed pointed fangs, and her eyes, bloodshot and red, stared down at them as she positioned herself directly in front of the door and loosed another ear-splitting howl.

Pierce, crouched in the undergrowth, frowned. It sounded like someone he didn't know had just told his friends, in as many words, that they wouldn't be able to enter the dungeon. "Who said that?" he asked, looking around.

Rearing up, Waheela slammed her paws onto the ground, sending shockwaves throughout the clearing. "Jump!" Sarph shouted, manifesting his Aera wings and hovering over the the wave of energy. Sigurd and Tyria triggered their respective methods of flight, while Grace leapt into a rift and disappeared, and Fleur launched herself into the air with a gust of petal-filled wind. Artorias and Hare simply jumped to dodge the attack.

"Everyone!" Sarph started, but the sound of slow clapping caused him to trail off. Everyone looked up at the hole in the dungeon wall that «Waheela, the Black Wolf» had emerged from, and saw three familiar black-clad men.

"Well! This will be fun to watch!" Prince of Hell declared, leering down at the group. Even the boss seemed frozen, waiting patiently for the murderer to finish.

"You," Hare growled, glaring up at the leader of Laughing Coffin.

"A band of plucky heroes lead an assault on the monsters' home, only to be waylaid by the guard dog," Prince chuckled, smiling beneath his hood. "You just can't write this stuff! Eh? Eh?" he cackled, gesturing upwards as though begging the attention of an audience only he could see.

"Oi!" Suddenly, Grace was hovering above Waheela, on the same level as the three leaders of Laughing Coffin. "Reality Dragon's Roar!" she shouted, launching a blast of grey energy at the trio - only for a purple shield to flash into being where the broken wall had once been and absorb the attack. Squinting, Sarph read the words printed on the barrier before it vanished. " 'Immortal Object'?"

"Sorry, but the outside walls of all dungeons of Aincrad are protected by ancient magics. Can't have someone cheating by going around the traps within, right?" Prince smirked.

Johnny Black cackled in amusement. "Hah! You got her good," he nodded in approval.

"Now. I wonder who will emerge triumphant? Will the plucky heroes enter the stronghold of their foes, or will this be the hurdle at which they fall?" the hooded man narrated. "As amusing as it would be to watch this play out naturally, I think it might be even more fun to tip the odds in our favour a little. Right, boys?" he questioned, looking at his accomplices, who nodded, eager.

"Mind if I take this one?" Red-Eyed XaXa questioned, looking at his leader for approval.

"By all means," Prince nodded graciously, and, smiling behind his skull mask, XaXa threw himself forward and landed perfectly astride the neck of «Waheela, the Black Wolf», who growled.

 _"Get off, you filthy creature!"_

Pierce started from his hiding spot. That was the second time he'd heard an unknown voice.

"Watch closely, everyone!" Prince shouted, leering down at Phoenix's Eye and raising his hand. He snapped his fingers and yelled; "It's showtime!"

And with that, Waheela raised her head and howled, as Johnny threw something to the ground, causing a massive plume of black smoke to obscure the room where he and Prince were standing. When it cleared, they were gone.

But this was the least of the Phoenixes' worries, as answering howls echoed on all sides from the woods around them.

"Adds?" Sarph questioned, looking around.

"Probably," Sigurd nodded, looking around and keeping his guard up.

Rustles in the bushes to the left and right of the clearing gave them a second's warning before half a dozen normal-sized wolves emerged from the undergrowth, with silver fur and reddened eyes. The «Dire Wolves» all howled in answer to their leader's call, before each selected a wizard and lunged at them.

Most whirled to engage, but Grace simply opened a rift beneath her feet and dropped into it, leaving the wolf that had targeted her looking around in confusion, before eventually targeting Artorias, leaving the Blood wizard to engage two of the beasts.

Not that this was a challenge for him; the boy launched slicks of blood that pierced the monsters' throats, sending them both crashing to the ground at his feet. "Easy," he snorted, drawing blood from their wounds and sending attacks flying at Waheela and her rider.

In response, XaXa drew his «Accuracy International L115A3» and fired. Thinking quickly, Artorias reformed the attack he had just launched into a shield that absorbed the bullet.

Sarph retracted his sword from the rapidly-decaying corpse of an attacking wolf and looked over «Tenshi Meiyo». "It's time to see what you can do," he declared, charging forwards and bringing his sword back to slash at Waheela's neck.

However, XaXa saw him coming and threw out a hand, declaring; "Yatto zabukke navraku jan!" Like lightning, a flash of dark magic emerged from his outstretched hand and struck Sarph - and suddenly the knight's legs felt like jelly, causing him to collapse to the ground. The Coffin cackled as Waheela reared up, before bringing her forelegs down for another shockwave attack, directly onto Sarph's prone back.

But, at the apex of her rise, a sudden impact sent her staggering backwards. Fleur grinned as the ornate calligraphy that spelled out 'PETAL PUNCH' disappeared from her rapier and the massive fists of petals that had just slammed into Waheela's underbelly dissipated.

"You found the weak point!" Sigurd gasped, frowning. He had intentionally withheld that information. "Target her underbelly!"

Alfheimic magic had an unusual system, in which each spell had a magnitude. Using a spell of any one magnitude would temporarily disallow the caster from casting that spell again, as well as any spells of magnitude _beneath_ the one used, for a short period of time. As a result, the standard way to deal damage was to 'run through' magnitudes, starting with the lowest one and going as high as you could muster. Sigurd, however, was so sick of being shown up by Phoenix's Eye - these impudent punks who simply refused to show the proper deference he deserved! - that he wanted to prove anything they could do, he could do better. That mute girl could hit Waheela's weak point? He could hit it harder. So he called up the words to the strongest direct damage spell he could muster, irrespective of the fact that using it would render him unable to use any spell weaker than it for a good half a minute, and, as the words materialised around him, he commanded; "Futto thimawu vethuk jan!"

The tenth-magnitude spell - the highest magnitude of spell there was in Alfheimic magic - rocketed from Sigurd's outstretched hand, smashing directly into the Field Boss of the 28th Floor. Waheela howled in pain as the Wind Magic projectile smashed into her, and she crumpled to the ground.

"Ha!" Sigurd crowed as Waheela's furious growl echoed through the clearing.

And then he was set upon by a trio of angry wolves.

Pierce squinted, looking around. Someone was shouting in pain and anger. But he couldn't pinpoint it.

While Sigurd fought off his assailants, Phoenix's Eye took advantage. Artorias leapt forwards and brought «Sleepless Dream» to bear, morphing it into a hefty warhammer of congealed blood, which he brought down, hard, on Waheela's muzzle. Changing his weapon into a sword, he raked it across her face as Waheela struggled to her feet, glaring at him in menace. A sudden memory of the previous boss fight struck the Blood Wizard, and a smile tugged at his lips. "Switch!" he shouted, throwing himself backwards.

And then Hare was there, rushing in with her massive saucepan at the ready. She twisted it sideways and smashed the thin edge of the weapon between Waheela's eyes, before using the weapon to pole vault upwards, targeting XaXa. "Eat this!" she shrieked, bringing her foot down towards the rider.

But suddenly Waheela howled and sunk into the earth underfoot. XaXa waved mockingly as he sunk away from Hare until the ground had completely swallowed both him and the boss up, leaving the princess to land on the ground and pound on it in irritation.

"State change! She'll attack from beneath!" Sigurd declared before Sarph could.

"Take flight!" Sarph added, whipping out his Aera and lifting off. Fleur launched herself into the air amidst a flurry of petals, and Tyria and Grace followed suit as Sigurd and Hare activated their flight harnesses.

"Shit," Artorias muttered as the ground rumbled underneath him, and cracks appeared in it.

And then «Waheela, the Black Wolf» erupted from the ground, lunching upwards like a great whale and reaching for Sigurd in her jaws. The tenth-magnitude spell he had hit her in the stomach with had made her extremely angry with him. For his part, the Sylph military commander screamed like a little girl and frantically dodged.

As Waheela fell back into the ground, Sarph and Tyria peppered her with machine gun rounds and laser blasts until she vanished, leaving a large hole in the clearing.

"Okay, what the actual hell? How can a wolf do that?" Tyria questioned, looking at her guildmates for answers.

"Uh, I don't think that's what we should be worrying about right now," Grace pointed out, briefly appearing in front of her, before falling back into a rift.

"You're right," Sarph nodded. "XaXa wasn't riding the wolf when she lunged upwards,"

"A little help here?" Artorias shouted up, and the Phoenixes looked down to see that the latest round of wolf assistants had congregated on him, six to one.

"I'm coming!" Grace declared, firing herself out of a warp in reality like a cannon and shouting; "Reality Dragon's Spiral Slash!" she shouted, tearing through three of the feral wolves.

"Bleeding Wave!" Artorias dispatched two more, leaving only one attacking wolf left. He whirled, about to dispatch it, but the ground shook underfoot.

And suddenly Waheela launched upwards again, tossing him into the air. This time, though, since she had a land-bound target, she gripped Artorias in her jaws and flipped forwards, curling into a ball as she rose into the air, before spitting him out beneath her. Lips peeled back and sharp teeth bared, the massive wolf threw herself downwards, fully prepared to slam Artorias into the ground -

"TechType: Tectonics!" A two-handed punch from a pair of metal clubs smashed into her flank, knocking the boss sideways and throwing her away from the falling Artorias. Tyria pulled up as Waheela crashed into the ground at the edge of the clearing, and grinned down at Artorias.

Just in time to see him vanish into the hole Waheela had opened beneath them.

She gasped, but the hole was already closing, just as the first had. Tyria swooped down, willing the giant fans that powered her flight to go ever faster. She knew that if she switched to her Mark III wings, she'd accelerate, but by the time she had done that it would be too late.

But it didn't help. She landed on a pile of already-crusting-over dirt.

The boss, though, was already recovering. She growled, eyeing the combatants, and howled.

Words echoed through Pierce's skull again; _"Enough of this!"_

At once, several smaller wolves leapt out of the trees, flying impossibly high, and each perfectly collided with one of the flying wizards, knocking them out of the sky and forcing them to the ground. The only exception was Tyria, who hadn't been airborne at the time of the attack. With her servants punning the wizards, Waheela growled, before rearing up and preparing to bring her paws down and unleash another massive shockwave and Tyria, even as she invoked her TechType: Chainsaw to destroy the wolves and free her friends, knew she wouldn't manage it in time -

"Seppa futto thimawu vethukke navgojiki zuru jan!" Like a shooting star, a blast of white magic arced over the struggling Phoenixes' heads and smashed into the attacking boss' underbelly. And then a squadron of warriors clad in red and white swarmed into the clearing, led by a tall man with dark hair who was wielding a rapier. Within moments, all of the Phoenixes had been freed and their attackers dispatched, and the group immediately surrounded and assaulted the boss. Already weakened from the fight with the Phoenixes, «Waheela, the Black Wolf» stood no chance against all the fresh attackers; easily a twenty-strong party.

With a final pained moan, the wolf collapsed, her body rapidly breaking down into flashes of energy.

Sarph looked at the leader in excitement as he approached him. "Who are you?" he asked, eager for the answer. That armour, those colours - surely these were . .

"We're a detachment from the Knights of the Blood Oath guild. We came here to attack the bosses and collect the drops, since it's been a while since anyone's been in this enck of the woods. Unfortunately, it seems you beat us to it," the man briefly explained as, with flashes of light, the drops from the fight materialised at the wizards' feet. The piles of loot were larger of the Phoenixes and Sigurd than they were for the newcomers - though, noticing a wolfskin cloak that had materialised at his new friend's feet, Sarph realised that this man had gotten the Last Attack Bonus. He grinned. The Knights of The Blood Oath had come to aid them! This was unbelievable!

"My name is Kuradeel. It's an honour to make your acquaintance,"

"I am Sarph, and we are the wizards of Phoenix's Eye. I feel the same," the angelic warrior assured him. "But we're not here to clear the dungeon. We've been hired by the Sylphs to take down Laughing Coffin, who we believe are hiding out in this dungeon,"

Kuradeel blinked in surprise. "Laughing Coffin? You're sure?"

"Absolutely. We pursued one of their leaders, Red-Eyed XaXa, to this location. Unfortunately, the boss slowed us down," Sarph admitted with a frown.

"Understandable. Of course, if those brigands are around, you'll have our full assistance in taking them down," Kuradeel assured him with an affable smile.

However, Sarph was the only one of the Phoenixes paying any attention to the Knights. All were too worried about Artorias' fate.

"Where is he?" Pierce questioned, looking around frantically as he rushed out of the trees to rejoin the group.

"He fell into the hole," Grace unnecessarily murmured, looking disconsolate.

"Ahem!" Sigurd shouted, cutting through the mood. "Your friend isn't dead. Yet, anyway,"

Hare blinked. In a flash she'd pulled «Tenshi Meiyo» out of Sarph's hand and levelled it at Sigurd's chest. "If you're lying, I'll -"

"Stop it, princess. I remember this from the report I received on this battle from my clearers. The holes Waheela makes lead into a sub-level of the dungeon. He's in there now, so if you want to rescue him, we need to get on with attacking that dungeon," the man explained, gesturing to the massive pillar of ice that towered over them, leading up to the next floor of Aincrad.

As if on cue, the massive doors that led inside spontaneously defrosted and slid open, inviting them in.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Pierce, an uncharacteristically stormy expression on his face, demanded. "Come on!" he shouted, charging towards the dungeon. The remainder of the group hastily followed in his wake.

Kuradeel blinked, surprised by their antics. He shrugged, and gestured. "Alright, men! Follow those Fioreans!"

-[CoT]-

Artorias crashed to the ground.

There he lay, dazed, until his senses completely came back to him.

It was cold, he registered as he wearily sat up. Looking around, he was in some kind of large underground room; perfectly circular and with walls made of earth and stone, with tree roots hanging around. The ground underfoot was coarse and uneven dirt, though in the centre of the room was some sort of dais made of cut stone. Checking himself over, the Blood wizard noted that most of his gear had remained on his person; however, the Peryton-pelt satchel had fallen from his back and lay, abandoned, in the dirt a few feet away.

A low noise interrupted him, and Artorias squinted into the shadows, searching for the source.

Yellow eyes glinted at him, and a low, hunched form inched out of the shadows. It was the wolf from earlier; the last of the six monsters who had assaulted him above ground.

"Oh dear," Artorias frowned, disregarding the aches in his body and picking himself up as the wolf emerged from the darkness, crouching low and stalking towards him. His hand hovered over the hilt of «Sleepless Dream», prepared to defend himself at a moment's notice.

Suddenly, the wolf stopped.

Artorias blinked.

It lowered its head, and sniffed at the Peryton-pelt satchel that it was now mere inches away from.

Artorias' eyebrow twitched upwards, and he carefully advanced as the wolf thrust its head into the bag. It was really a rather comical sight.

At least, it was until the wolf tore the bag in half, searching for whatever it was that was so tantalising.

Suddenly, it hit him. The Peryton meat! Artorias had put one of the raw steaks away in one of the bag's pockets to eat later and forgotten about it. The wolf must be hungry.

Well, better the steak than his arm.

Creeping closer to the oblivious wolf, who was now snuffling around in the wrong half of the emancipated bag, Artorias snatched up the part that actually contained the steak and quickly tore it open, fishing out the slab of meat. Once he was holding it in his hands, he lowly whistled.

The wolf immediately looked up, and its eyes immediately locked onto the steak.

Experimentally, Artorias moved his hand to the left, and then to the right. Like a magnet, the wolf's head turned to follow it. "You want it?" he softly asked.

It twitched its head, as though it were nodding. Artorias blinked as the wolf's jaw dropped open and a fleshy pink tongue rolled out.

He inched forwards, before tossing it at the monster - and it lunged forwards, snapping the steak out of mid-air, before consuming it in five great bites.

As the wolf refocused it's attention on him, Artorias really hoped that it was full now.

It paced towards him, and the Blood wizard tensed as it came within a few feet.

And then the wolf's hindquarters sunk to the ground, its tail started swishing back and forth, and it looked up at him in unadulterated eagerness.

Artorias' crimson eyebrow twitched upwards again. "Um . . good doggy?"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Finally!**

 **Everyone remembers that Artorias was one of the first OCs submitted to me for this story, right? Well, he was. And part of his character bio included that he owned a pet wolf.**

 **It took eighty chapters, but Artorias is** ** _finally_** **getting his pet wolf. Finally! UchihaBrotherhood, I hope you're happy!**

 **Also, another Boss fight. Don't worry, we'll get to the battles with the individual members of Laughing Coffin soon enough. Actually, I think the first one's next chapter. So look forward to next week, everyone! Peace!**


	8. If You Called Any Of This You're Psychic

Chapter 78: If You Called Any Of This, You're Psychic

 **A/N: A couple of small retcons have been made to this chapter.**

The Phoenix's Eye party charged through the dungeon, followed closely by the Knights of the Blood Oath raid group. Frequently, they were set upon by monsters, but regularly repelled them.

"Why are there so many monsters?" Sarph demanded, blocking an assault from an «Ice Golem» with «Tenshi Meiyo», before blasting it in the chest.

"It's a dungeon, genius. It's not supposed to be easy," Sigurd growled at him as he combatted another Golem.

"Doesn't matter! We just gotta move!" Pierce shouted, using his Phoenix Soul Take Over to melt several Golems at once.

Within minutes, the remainder of the ambush had been dispatched. The Knights barely even got a taste. "Leave some for us," one of them jokingly moaned.

Tyria moved over to Pierce and wrapped an arms round his shoulders. "Are you alright?" she gently asked her boyfriend.

"It's my fault," he muttered, shaking his head.

"You mean Artorias?" the tech wizard checked, and he nodded. "If I'd been in that fight . . if I hadn't been so hung up on my principles . . I could have saved him. Now Artorias is in god knows what kind of mess, and it's my fault,"

"Hey. Don't think like that. What could you have done? You'd have been in the air like the rest of us, and if we couldn't get to him, neither could you," she assured him, gently rubbing his back.

Pierce exhaled, nodding, and accepted the logic. "Maybe you have a point," he admitted, before shaking his head. "But we still need to find him,"

"This is Artorias we're talking about here," Tyria admonished. "The weeping phoenix who sheds tears of blood as it rains down destruction upon its foes," she quoted his self-assigned epithet. "There's a reason he's considered the guild's strongest male wizard. He can handle himself," she assured him.

A smile tugged at the Tamer's lips, and he pulled Tyria in for a quick peck on the cheek. "You're right. Thanks," he smiled, and the Electrian, beating back the urge to blush, beamed back at him.

"Are you two quite done?" Hare huffed, placing her hands on her hips and gesturing to the door that led onwards. "We're on the clock," she reminded them.

"Right," The two separated, and Pierce took point. "Let's go!" he declared, leading the team down the corridor.

"You know," Sarph commented, looking around, "Something's been bothering me,"

Fleur cocked her head inquisitively, and Grace chimed in, asking, "What?"

"Laughing Coffin is supposed to be a _guild_ , right? Not just three people," the Knights mused. "So, where's everyone else?"

"Good question," Grace shrugged. "I'm sure they'll show up sooner or later, though,"

They were more than a little surprised to hear the noises of combat as they entered the next room, and the Phoenixes were stunned to see Red-Eyed XaXa engaging a group of «Ice Golems» and «Dire Wolves».

"Ah, little birdies!" XaXa crowed upon seeing them - until he had to deflect a lupine lunge. "I've been expecting -" Again, he was interrupted by an attacking mob. The assassin grimaced. He'd been hoping to ambush the enemies, but been ambushed himself by respawning monsters.

Fleur whistled to get the group's attention. She gestured to the monsters, drew a line across her neck, gestured to the Coffin, and raised her palms in a questioning expression.

"Should we just let them kill him?" Sarph interpreted. "Tempting thought," he admitted.

"So sorry to disappoint," XaXa shouted at them, before tossing a pellet to the ground. Immediately the room erupted in smoke. "But I have other places to be - ouch!"

Pierce snorted. "Rookie mistake. Wolves hunt by scent; they don't need to see you to attack you,"

"I'll keep that in mind!" XaXa hollered, his words accompanied by the unmistakeable sound of a dying «Dire Wolf». "Until we meet again!" he declared . . just as the smoke cleared, and the Phoenixes saw him at one of the three exits to the room.

XaXa blanched. He had been hoping to be around the corner and out of sight, so they wouldn't know which way he'd gone. Luckily, there was still a mob of Ice Golems between him and them. Even so, he started running.

"Pierce!" The boy looked to his left to see Grace standing in front of the telltale ripple of bent reality. He grinned and charged into it, rapidly followed by the young Dragon Slayer. A second later, the two fell out of the ceiling across the room, metres away from XaXa.

"Go! We'll catch up!" Sarph shouted. Pierce shot him an over-the-shoulder-thumbs-up and started running, he and Grace in hot pursuit of the Coffin ringleader as the Phoenixes and Knights engaged the «Ice Golems».

Their speed was equal, but Grace's warps accelerated them, and XaXa realised it was only so long before she'd catch up. "There's no choice, then," he growled.

The man raised a hand and shouted; "Open! Holy Palace of Steel and Shadow!"

"What?" Pierce blinked as a plume of dark smoke billowed out of XaXa's hand, expanding outwards and forming a massive pair of doors that looked to be made of some kind of black metal. The doors swung open, and, without hesitation, XaXa charged in.

"Should we?" Grace quickly asked Pierce without slowing down, and he shrugged. "Is there any choice?"

With that, the two charged through the doors - and, immediately, they were somewhere different.

Instead of the ice and stone of the 28th Floor Dungeon, they were now in a corridor made entirely of black metal, with a smooth surface underfoot and walls decorated by a series of arches. Both siblings were amazed as they looked around, observing the gothic architecture - and then they realised the door had disappeared.

More importantly, though, Red-Eyed XaXa was standing a few feet away, goggling at them in horror. "You - you followed me into the Black Iron Palace?! No way, that's impossible!" he shouted in horror. "Don't you realise where we are?"

"The Black Iron Palace?" Grace guessed.

"Bravo," XaXa sarcastically clapped. "This Palace is the skeleton of Aincrad. A long and sprawling dungeon that connects the entire castle and beyond together, infested with powerful monsters and bosses. It's a deathtrap!"

"Then why did you bring us here?" Pierce challenged, folding his arms. "I don't see any monsters,"

The glowing red eyes of XaXa's mask twinkled menacingly. "That's because you haven't turned around yet," he smugly retorted.

Grace blinked, and immediately they both wheeled around.

There was nothing there.

"That asshole," Pierce growled, before blinking and realising he had just broken his resolution not to swear around Grace. They promptly wheeled, just in time to see XaXa vanish around a corner. "After him!" the boy shouted, charging forwards. Grace waved her arm, attempting to open a rift, but blinked. "What the heck?"

"Something wrong?" Pierce questioned.

"The reality in here, there's something wrong. It won't bend," the Dragon Slayer frowned, waving her arms frantically in desperate attempts to rip reality asunder as she usually could. Nothing.

"That's bad," her brother frowned as they ran. "We'll figure it out later. Run," he commanded, giving chase.

Grace nodded, looking around with a shiver as she gave chase. "What is this place?" she warily murmured.

Without her reality-warping abilities, though, they were only capable of keeping up and failed to gain any ground on the assassin. They chased him down staircases and along corridors, passing monsters who often tried to pursue but couldn't keep up, through the seemingly infinite maze.

And then XaXa ran into a dead end.

The two Phoenixes found him with his back pressed against the wall of a dead end. "No! How could this have happened? How could I lose? I am not supposed to lose!"

"Tough luck," Pierce smirked as he and Grace advanced.

Suddenly XaXa's glare turned vengeful. "Just kidding,"

And then the floor dropped out from under them, sending the two wizards plunging into an abyss.

The Coffin cackled maniacally. "Yes! So long, suckers! Now; setto wilnachikke glefranyelth min! PoH!" As the spell was completed and XaXa devolved into snickers, a massive window appeared in the air, with Prince on the other side.

"What's so funny?" the guild master immediately declared.

"Now that I've realised it's homophonous with 'poo', I can no longer take PoH seriously," XaXa informed him through the «Moonlight Mirror» amidst chuckles.

"Stop laughing or I will gut you when we next meet," Prince assured him, and XaXa shut up. "I see you're in the Black Iron Palace. How did that happen?"

"I had to escape into the Palace. But two of those Fioreans followed me, somehow," XaXa growled.

"Could it be that you simply were too stupid to close the gate behind you?" Prince acidly questioned.

"That's . . neither here nor there. Point is, I lured them into a pit trap. So we won't be seeing them again and I can get right back to it," the assassin smiled darkly behind his mask.

"Excellent," Prince mirrored his expression, before pausing. "Wait . . this wouldn't happen to be the pit on the twenty-fifth floor of the Palace, would it?"

"Yes, it would,"

"The one I specifically commanded you to _stay away from_ at all costs?" he growled.

"I suppose so,"

"You idiot!" Prince barked in anger. "That's not a pit trap. That's the back entrance to the Nexus!"

"It . . what?" XaXa gasped. "But . . the Nexus is where you get all your special toys!"

"Exactly!" Prince roared. His jaw set. "Find them. Kill them. No one can know about the power in the Nexus!"

"Fine, fine," the man sighed, looking down at the dark void beneath. "See you later, then," With that, he swallowed nervously, before jumping in.

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, back in the 28th Floor Dungeon, the party had reached a room with a large table in the centre and only two doors; one of which they had entered through.

"Ahem. My information indicates that this is a safe zone," Kuradeel informed Sarph, who had taken over as temporary command of Phoenix's Eye in Pierce's absence.

"So we aren't liable to be attacked here?" the man questioned, and the Knight nodded. "Between the run across the Floor and clearing our way through the dungeon, not to mention fighting that boss, we've been going for hours now, especially your people. It would be a shame not to take advantage of the opportunity to take a rest," he suggested.

Sarph looked at his teammates questioningly. Tyria nodded encouragingly; she was getting tired. Fleur shared the sentiment. Hare shrugged.

"Alright. But not for long. We have people missing around here and we need to find them," Sarph resolved.

"Assuming they aren't dead," Sigurd huffily interrupted, and the Phoenixes looked daggers at him.

"Asshole," Sarph snorted as they took advantage of the convenient table and sat down. Some of Knights unloaded packed lunches.

"I hope Pierce is alright," Tyria murmured to Fleur, who cast her a consoling glance. That would indeed be really unfortunate; if something happened to him just after the two of the, had finally gotten together.

"What's this?" Sarph blinked, and, looking around, the Phoenixes saw that some kind of scroll had appeared out of thin air in front of him, landing on the table with a thump.

"It's a message. For you," Sigurd snorted. "It's a function of Alfheimic magic; enabling people to write letters that are quickly delivered to their recipient. And if you want to write a reply, just write on the back of the page and it'll go back to the original sender. Though I can't imagine who would be writing to you," he irritably sniffed, before taking a bite of some biscuits he had been keeping in his pocket and not sharing.

"It's from Heathcliff!" Sarph excitedly exclaimed, which caused Sigurd to choke on his chocolate chips. The man eagerly unrolled the paper, and began reading.

 _Greetings to the Fiorean wizard of Phoenix's Eye known as Sarph._

 _Though we only met briefly during the boss battle, I find myself intrigued by your nature. Indeed, if I were not aware that you were already part of a guild, I would extend an invitation for you to join the Knights of the Blood Oath. Your skills are quite impressive._

 _I do hope that you are taking to the use of «Tenshi Meiyo» well. I am aware that it must be a burden, becoming the wielder of one of the O Wazamono swords, but I have faith that you will carve your name into its legend just as your predecessors have._

 _I can't help but wonder if you are aware of the abilities, known as «Sword Skills», that Alfheimic weapons possess. While you already possess strong fighting abilities, I am certain that the use of these Skills will allow you to reach the next level in your own abilities. If you are not, then I suggest that you begin training with them. You are still at the Sylph Capitol, correct? I suggest you ask the lieutenant commander of the garrison there, Leafa, for advice. She is a very capable fighter, as younger sibling to one of the most legendary swordsmen in Alfheim - no, not me, but someone who I view as my equal - and far easier to get along with than her superior, Sigurd. Which you probably already know._

 _I hope that this letter finds you in good health, and that you continue to excel._

 _Yours truly, Heathcliff._

"I can't believe it. _Heathcliff_ took the time to write me a personal letter!" Sarph grinned exuberantly.

"Congratulations," Hare dryly commented.

"I'm going to write back!" Sarph declared, turning the paper over and patting his pockets. "Does anyone have a pen?"

-[01101100 01101001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01101110]-

"Pierce? Wake up. This place is weird," Pierce roused himself to Grace's voice, and opened his eyes to see her hovering over him. "Grace? Are you alright?" he questioned, blearily sitting up.

"I'm fine. My powers started working again in the middle of the fall, so I managed to catch myself . . not you, though," She sounded apologetic, and Pierce consolingly wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, it's alright. I'm fine,"

"I'm not sure we are, though. This place is all kinds of weird," Grace pointed out.

Pierce nodded as he looked around. They obviously weren't in the Black Iron Palace anymore - the floor was now made of wood, as was everything else. Above them was a massive hole that stretched upwards into infinity, and they seemed to be at the entrance to some kind of massive chamber. This area was also made of wood, right to the ceiling, but holes and arches formed by roots and knots in the wood were all over the place, and each one carried a colourful veil of light. They almost reminded Pierce of the Warp Gates, but perpetually active and made of wood, and all over the place. Additionally, little black specks were dancing around the entire crevice.

"What is this place?" Grace questioned.

"It's all wood," Pierce observed, recalling that Aincrad was built on top of the World Tree, Yggdrasil. "I think we're inside Yggdrasil, sis," he observed.

"No," a sudden voice interrupted, and Pierce looked around in surprise - and saw a black creature that was shaped like an 'H' with an eye in the centre hovering nearby. It seemed to be the source of the word. "We're not in Yggdrasil?" he questioned.

"Known," it replied.

"Pardon?" Pierce blinked.

"Known," it, along with four of its friends, which came and swarmed around it before forming a line, chorused.

"Known . . what?"

"Unknown!" the five exclaimed in unison, wiggling, and as Pierce eyed the group, he realised something. Each of the creatures was shaped like a letter, and together, the five spelt out 'H-E-L-L-O'. "Hello?"

"Unknown!" the creatures repeated, this time sounding jubilant. More appeared, and this time, knowing to read them, Pierce read; 'WHAT-DO-YOU-DESIRE?'

"What do I desire?" he parroted. "Hmm. What is this place?"

'THIS-IS-THE-NEXUS'

"The Nexus? Alright then," the Tamer nodded. "And what are you little guys?"

'WE-ARE-THE-UNOWN'

"Unown," Saying the word out loud, Pierce realised how it sounded. "Is that the only thing you can say?"

Amidst a chorus of cries of "Unown! Unown!", the answer came floating back; 'YES-ALSO-YOUR-LITTLE-FRIEND-IS-GOING-INTO-ONE-OF-THE-PORTALS-IS-THAT-ALRIGHT?'

Pierce blinked and turned around. "Grace?" he called, just in time to see the ribbons on her «Dragonwing Dress» disappear into one of the nearby portals. A group of Unown hovered over it, spelling out 'CODENAME-KIDS-NEXT-DOOR'.

"Grace!" he shouted in panic, rushing after her and throwing himself into the portal, ignoring the label. It was meaningless anyway. There weren't even any doors in the Nexus. And what codename?

Just as he did, however, there was a thump and XaXa emerged from the drop. Having seen it all before, he stormed straight up to the mass of Unown and demanded; "Two people came in here just before, where did they go?"

As one, the hundreds of Unown eyed him, before chatters of "Unown," "Unown," filled the mass. Eventually, an Unown shaped like an exclamation mark screamed, before, finally, the floating letters shaped themselves into a phrase, punctuated by the angry exclamation mark. 'THEY-WENT-OVER-THERE!' the creatures spelt out, and a line of sideways I-shaped Unown lead the way to one of the portals.

A portal which two lines of text, spelled out by Unown, was marked as 'GARGANTIA-ON-THE-VERDUROUS-PLANET'.

"Took you long enough," XaXa huffed, following their directions and leaping into the portal.

The Unown giggled.

-[01010100 01101000 01100101]-

"Uh, excuse me. Where am I?" Grace asked the nearest person upon emerging from the portal. Looking around, she seemed to be inside some kind of massive treehouse.

The person she was addressing, a young boy with no hair, wearing a red sweater, large brown shoes, and black sunglasses, wheeled around in surprise. "What the - who are you? How did you get in here?" he asked.

Grace raised an eyebrow. "The big portal?" she gestured behind her, where, sure enough, a glowing interdimensional wormhole was still open behind her.

". . That wasn't there a moment ago," the boy blinked in bemusement.

"Numbuh One, what's going on - oh man, what is that?" a second boy, wearing a blue shirt, yellow goggles and an aviator's cap, gasped as he entered the room.

"It's a security breach," the first boy frowned, looking irritated by how excited the second was. "Just think; if this girl got into my treehouse with it, then anyone could!"

Just then, somewhat proving his point, Pierce emerged. "Grace? Where are you?" he called, looking around and quickly spotting her. "There you are. You know you shouldn't walk through strange portals. Remember the magic cupboard?" He admonished her.

Grace had the decency to look apologetic, but before she could respond, 'Numbuh One' did. "See? A teenager! Numbuh Two!" he shouted.

"Already on it!" the second nodded, running over to a control panel and pressing a button.

"Hold on. What are you -" That was as far as Pierce got before a massive mallet swung out of the ceiling and smashed into him, throwing him back into the portal.

"Well, that was close. Don't worry, you're safe now," Numbuh One smiled, turning to Grace. "The Kids Next Door will always . . protect . . . children?" he trailed off, noting the angry look in the Dragon Slayer's eyes.

"Don't you dare attack my brother! Reality Dragon's Roar!" Grace shrieked, and a cyclone of grey Reality energy blasted a new hole in the Sector V treehouse.

-[01000011 01100001 01101110 01101111 01110000 01111001]-

The Unown watched in amusement as Pierce flew backwards out of the portal he had just entered, clear across the room, and fell into another wormhole, one whose local Unown proudly titled 'DINOSAUR-KING'.

-[01000001 01110100 01110100 01100001 01100011 01101011 01110011]-

Pierce emerged from this wormhole and found himself floating in a tunnel of multicoloured light. "Where am I now?" he asked, looking around - and blanched.

Some kind of massive metal vessel - the only thing he could think to compare it to was the Alternative Weapons System, but this was silver and round, and glistening with colourful lights but trailing smoke, was pitching, out of control, towards him. He screamed as it approached, and frantically started swimming in mid-air, spotting the wormhole beneath him and hoping that he could reach it before the massive machine hit him. But he wasn't fast enough, and it spiralled towards Pierce, who screwed his eyes shut and waited for the end.

The ship spiralled past him.

Pierce opened his eyes and watched it sail away into the distance, shedding smoke and debris. A chunk of which hit him in the stomach. "Ouch!" he gasped, looking down and snatching the object that had hit him. He frowned, inspecting it. It was some kind of metal egg with a jagged pattern running along it. Shrugging, he tucked it into the pocket of his «Flame-Licked Parka» and resumed swimming back into the wormhole.

-[01000110 01101001 01101110 01100100]-

The blond emerged to find Grace waiting outside the portal. "Are you alright?" she immediately asked, and Pierce nodded, reassuring her. "I'm fine," he grinned. "Though, it was weird . . every time I passed through those portals, for a second, it felt like hundreds - no, _thousands_ of eyes were . . watching me," he shivered, before addressing his sister. "And you? What happened in that treehouse place?"

-[01000011 01100001 01110010 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100001 01101100]-

Numbuh One sobbed, looking at the destruction Grace had wrought from the safety of the airborne S.C.A.M.P.E.R. "My _treehouse_ ,"

-[01010011 01100001 01110110 01100101]-

"Not much," Grace shrugged a little too innocently. "But I know what you mean, about the eyes. That was really creepy,"

The cluster of Unown hovered around them once again, spelling out for the second time; 'WHAT-DO-YOU-DESIRE?'

"Um . . how about a Rainbow Monkey?" Grace suggested.

"A what?" Pierce blinked.

"It's a thing I found in that weird treehouse place. There was a whole room full of them and this really nice girl told me all about them," Grace explained.

Meanwhile, the Unown chittered to each other, and several letters spelt out 'A-RAINBOW-MONKEY? A-RAINBOW-MONKEY!' With that, they swirled around each other, and the two Phoenixes averted their eyes as there was a flash of light.

When the glare cleared, the Unown were scattered around, and, lying on the floor where they had been 'working', was a stuffed toy shaped like a bright green ape with a little plastic rainbow crowning its head.

"Cool!" Grace squealed, leaping forwards and scooping up the toy.

Pierce blinked, amazed. "They just . . created that . . out of nothing," he murmured, entranced by the possibilities. What else could this swarm of magical beings do?

"I'm gonna go back to that treehouse place. I wanna make sure they got it right!" Grace declared, dashing off. Normally, Pierce would have stopped her, but he was too lost in thought to properly register her words. "Okay, have fun," he nodded, still gazing at the Unown.

'WHAT-DO-YOU-DESIRE?' The tantalising words played in his vision, and Pierce frowned. He had to keep a handle on this. Who knew how this worked, what limitations were on it? He needed to test their capabilities. To approach the situation scientifically. So he thought, ruminating on the options, on what he wanted the Unown to create. And eventually he had it.

"Alright," Pierce spoke slowly and carefully, wanting no mistakes to be made. "I want you to create a -"

"RUN!" Grace shouted, speeding past him. Pierce blinked, before looking back in the direction she had came.

A fifteen-foot-tall humanoid machine of some sort was charging towards them. It's cockpit head was wide open, and he spotted the familiar skull mask of Red-Eyed XaXa leering at him from within it.

"What the hell is that?!" Pierce gasped, stepping backwards, before taking a hint and fleeing after Grace.

As XaXa in his stolen Machine Caliber charged after them, the Unown ruminated on the odd command they had been given. 'I-WANT-YOU-TO-CREATE-A-RUN', they spelled out, confused.

Then their leader, the exclamation point, buzzed with an idea and shouted a command; "Unown!"

With that, the U was replaced in the sentence with an O. And the Unown pulsed in excitement because _the sentence made sense_.

Meanwhile, Pierce looked up to see his sister hovering near one of the wormholes. "In here!" she shouted, gesturing to a large wormhole set into the wall of the Nexus whose seven local Unown spelled out 'POKEMON'.

"But there could be anything on the other side?!" Pierce protested.

A concussive detonation of energy alerted him to the fact that XaXa was drawing in, and he decided that whatever was behind that rift, it probably wasn't worse than the psychopath with a giant robot. "Okay, we'll go through the wormhole," he accepted. Grace beamed and they both jumped in.

XaXa snorted disdainfully. "Like that'll stop me," His robot briefly froze up, servos squealing in protest, but he kicked it and it kept moving. "Oh, no. You don't get to shut down on me," he growled at the mech, and drove it straight into the wormhole.

-[01000101 01110110 01100101 01110010 01111001 01101111 01101110 01100101]-

The Altar of the Moone, on Poni Island in the Alola region. An ancient shrine, thousands of years old, at the end of the Vast Poni Canyon.

Suddenly, a pulsing, colourful rift in the fabric of the dimension tore open, and spat out two people.

Pierce landed, tucking and rolling, while Grace caught herself with a rift. "Where are we?" he questioned, looking around at the vast, desolate canyon, with the central spire surrounding a circle of barren wasteland.

"I don't know," Grace admitted with a frown.

 _Somewhere . . . far away . . . something stirred . . ._

Pierce frowned. Had he just heard something . . ? But above them, the rift pulsed, and XaXa, driving his giant machine, flew out of it, catching himself with the flight system. Pierce and Grace gasped, the Tamer shaking off his thoughts as he saw the massive sphere of artificial gravity that was holding the Machine Caliber in mid-air.

"You think you can escape from me? In Prince's Nexus? Hah!" XaXa snorted derisively.

 _The Altar . . . it sensed something at the Altar . . . could it be . . . ?_

"I somehow don't think that _that place_ belongs to the leader of a Red Guild," Pierce shook his head. "It's obviously Lost Magic. You probably just found it and decided to take over it,"

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law," XaXa snorted. "And as long as no one else knows about it, we have exclusive access to all these alternate worlds! This incredible treasure trove - I mean, look at this thing! I found it and stole it within minutes of entering one of those portals!" he exclaimed, slapping the hotwired mech, which sparked in response. "And every single one of them is full of stuff like this!"

 _Travelling . . . it had to be there . . . it couldn't miss this opportunity . . ._

"What opportunity?" Pierce frowned.

"Huh?" Grace blinked.

"Didn't you just hear something?" the Tamer checked.

"Hey!" XaXa hollered. "If someone's trying to kill you, you could at least pay attention!" he declared, reactivating the Machine Caliber's weapons systems.

And then there was a massive flash of light to the two Phoenixes' left. All three wizards turned to see that, all of a sudden, a circular hole, glowing with blue and white light, and formulating a curving, twisted grid pattern, had torn open in the fabric of space and time. "What's that?" Pierce questioned.

"I don't know, but it feels . . weird," Grace observed, lifting a hand and letting distortions of reality play around her fingers. Her magic fizzled and sparked, reacting to the unfamiliar energy.

And then a massive black shape emerged from the rift, which immediately closed behind it.

It was jet black all over, made seemingly entirely of some kind of crystal. Harsh lines, warped planes and angry angles made up every inch of its body, with two small, thin legs hanging from the base of its floating, prismatic body. An arm extended from either side, thin at the upper arm but feeding into massive, club-like forearms with spikes extending from the elbows and jagged claws adorning the end. Its head was fused into its body, with a single, colourful eye set into a triangular, ridged protrusion in its face. The back of its head extended outwards, ending abruptly at a flat surface.

 _It had arrived . . . but no . . it had been wrong . . . its prey wasn't there! . . . just some strange creatures . . . that made it angry . . . how dare these little things trick it . . . lure it out . . . force it to feel this_ pain _again . . . IT WOULD DESTROY THEM FOR THIS! ! ! ! !_

Pierce shivered as unfamiliar words echoed through his head. "Is that you talking?" he addressed the creature, and that menacing purple eye swivelled, glancing between him, Grace and XaXa, before it flailed its arms madly and screamed. _"NECROOOOOOOZMAAAAAA!"_

"What the hell is that thing?" Pierce questioned, glaring at XaXa. "I don't know! I've never been in this particular world before!" the assassin shouted back at him.

And then a blast of obscenely overpowered purple energy smashed into his mech, sending it spinning away. Necrozma roared victoriously, seeing that its Photon Geyser was working, before targeting the smaller creatures.

"Take cover!" Pierce shouted, running towards the stairs that led down the peak as Necrozma fired another Photon Geyser at them. The attack smashed into the stones of the Shrine and caused a huge blast of power, sending him and Grace flying.

Pierce landed on the lower level of the Shrine with a thunk, and frantically picked himself up, searching for signs of the new assailant.

Instead, he had to frantically avoid a blast of energy from XaXa's mech.

"What are you doing?" he shouted at the Coffin. "That thing wants to destroy us all, we can't fight each other now!"

"I'd rather help it destroy you!" XaXa roared, his Machine Caliber soaring downwards, guided by the artificial gravity sphere, towards Pierce.

And then a Prismatic Laser struck the mech, courtesy of the rampaging Legendary Pokemon. It was knocked sideways, spiralling towards the great staircase.

Pierce looked around, searching for Grace, and spotted her hovering in mid-air behind the monster. "Reality Dragon's Roar!" she blasted it, blindsiding the beast and sending it flying forwards into the Shrine.

The Tamer frowned. He was a Beast Tamer wizard, capable of taming creatures with his magical flute and calling upon them in combat, and he recognised this creature for what it was; a wild beast. If that was its voice he had been hearing . . maybe it just needed a friend?

With a flash, his flute appeared in his hand, and he blew into it, carrying a careful tune. Standing and focusing on Necrozma, he played quickly but carefully, trying to match the raging spirit within this creature and temper it.

The beast, recovering, paused, swivelling to face him.

Pierce began to slow the tune down, encouraging calmness, control, and offering friendship with his melody.

 _A creature was advancing on it . . . doing something . . . how unusual . . ._

Pierce continued to advance, maintaining his music, sensing that he was starting to get through to 'Necrozma'. White light built at the end of the instrument, and the swirling portal that opened into his Beast Tamer pocket dimension began to materialise. Pierce continued to slow the tune down, trying to calm the Pokemon. And it seemed to be working; the hovering being was sinking to the ground, peering at him with its single eye, raising an inquisitive hand.

The Prismatic Laser that Necrozma then launched caught him entirely by surprise.

Grace gasped as Pierce was blown straight back to the massive stairs, while the creature seemed to slump, dimming almost. Frantically, the young Dragon Slayer twisted reality so that Pierce was deposited safely behind a rocky outcropping near the shrine, out of Necrozma's line of sight. She frowned, looking back at the monster as it seemed to recover again, alert once more.

She raised a thoughtful eyebrow. She'd noticed two distinct attacks so far; the rapid-fire blasts of raw energy that this thing had been throwing around since it first appeared, and the stronger, more focused laser that hit harder, but seemed to briefly leave the beast vulnerable after using it. Grace raised an eyebrow as a thought occurred to her. Maybe if she used _that_ . . . ?

There was a sudden rush, and Grace narrowly dodged as XaXa drove his Machine Caliber's foot into the ground where she had been standing moments ago. "Didn't forget about me, did you?" he bellowed, raising a fist to bring down on her. But suddenly it froze.

XaXa roared in anger. "No, you stupid machine! Don't you freeze on me!"

"You are not qualified to pi-i-i . ." A synthetic voice droned, but died as the Coffin pulled a wire out of the console. "Shut up and do what you're told," he growled.

Grace wasn't sure what was going on, but knew it gave her an opportunity -

There was a faint whistling in her ears, and she threw herself to the ground, just in time to allow a Photon Geyser blast to pass over her head and smash into XaXa's Machine Caliber. Off-balance and malfunctioning, the impact threw the mech backwards, over the cliff.

XaXa distantly screamed as the Machine Caliber plunged into the abyss beneath the Shrine, and Grace nodded. That should buy her a few seconds.

She wheeled, reality rippling around her splayed fingers, and shouted; "Reality Dragon's Spiral Slash!" just as Necrozma launched another blast of psychic light. The two opposing forces of reality-warping energy met and cancelled each other out, and Grace took the opportunity, leaping forwards and, taking a page from the Machine Caliber's book, bent gravity in order to pull herself further upwards. Necrozma leant backwards, and fired another Photon Geyser, which narrowly missed Grace's «Fairyfoot Boots».

Recalling a new technique she'd recently developed, Grace quickly bent reality so that a chunk of the ground beneath was on an angle directly next to her, and swung her foot into the bent space, kicking off it and pushing herself further upwards as reality snapped back into place. Repeating the trick, she climbed over Necrozma like an angry mountain, dodging and weaving as he continued to fire Photon Geysers off at the girl.

Eventually Grace leapt to the ground and wheeled. It was now or never, she told herself, facing the beast. "Come on, you big chunk of quartz!" she shouted, spreading her arms wide. "Give me everything you've got!"

With an incensed shout of "NECROZMA!" the beast put its hands together and launched another Prismatic Laser.

In response, Grace opened her mouth and inhaled, sucking it in.

The world around them flickered. The laser shot into her mouth, turning into grey energy as it did. Around her, flakes of dust and dirt broke down into specks of reality that absorbed themselves into her meal, and streaks of white and grey magic soared out of the still-open wormhole nearby. Grace ate, eating Necrozma's reality-defying power, eating the Ultra Energy that permeated the shrine, eating the spillover from the wormhole. _The dragon ate her element, and was empowered._

Necrozma quailed.

Shining, Grace's green hair paled until it was a shade of grey so light it was almost white. Her fingernails and toenails darkened and extended, sharpening into claws. A sudden pressure built at the back of her head, dislodging the «Starswept Veil» from her skull as two grey semicircles emerged from it, forming four interconnected horns that fused at the tips. There was a dull, painless crunch as her spine extended, growing out into a lithe, thin tail, coated in grey scales, that ended with a wickedwhite blade. Matching scales rapidly coated her left arm, inlaid with streaks of blue. Grace's vampiric canines spread until her mouth was full of teeth like tiny daggers, and her orange eyes gleamed, glittering with power.

Pierce, emerging from the outcropping where Grace had left him, gasped, seeing his sister. "No way . . is that . . Dragon Force?" he questioned incredulously. Having done research on Dragon Slayers, Pierce, of course, knew all about Dragon Force, and that, especially given her nature and unnatural amount of power, it was only a matter of time until Grace triggered it. But even so . . this was incredible.

 _The creature was powerful . . . it might not be strong enough . . ._

Pierce frowned, hearing something again. "Are you trying to talk to me?" he asked, eyeing the crystalline black being, who didn't respond.

Amazed by the transformation, Grace held up her now-mismatched arms in bemusement and fingered the scales on her left arm with her right. Experimentally, she flicked her tail, mesmerised by the light flashing off the blade at the end, and was elated to feel it respond to her. As though she'd had it all her life.

A shout of "Crozma!" alerted her to the fact that she had allowed herself to be distracted. Grace gritted her fangs in irritation; her metamorphosis had distracted her, and she'd failed to take advantage of the opening. Now Necrozma had recovered, and was ready to go . . and now XaXa, in his mech suit, was hovering behind him.

Which gave her an idea. Flexing her claws, Grace dove into a rift.

She had always been able to bend reality with ease, but now, in her current state, it was as though she were a hot knife and the world made of butter. Before XaXa even knew what was happening, Grace had teleported past him and was clinging with her claws to the chest of the Machine Caliber. Lashing her tail, she used the blade on the end to slice through the mech's left leg, and raised it again, prepared to do the same to the right, but plates in the chest she was clinging to slid apart and a large cannon emerged. "Take this, you wench!" the assassin roared.

Grace leapt back, using her new trick with gravity to suspend herself in mid-air between XaXa and Necrozma. Twisting her scaly left hand, she bent reality around her again, just as XaXa's cannon fired. The blasts shot towards her, passed into the bent reality and were immediately teleported around her. Which sent them smashing into Necrozma.

The berserk Legendary roared, throwing itself forwards. Seeing this, Grace shut down both rifts and dropped out of the way, landing on all fours as Necrozma shot above her, careening into the damaged Machine Caliber. Grace grinned. Sure, she could let the two of them fight it out. But she was in Dragon Force, and it seemed a shame to waste this opportunity. So she leapt back into a rift, emerging above them, and shouted, "Reality Dragon's Roar!" The resulting, overcharged blast of Reality-distorting magic slammed both assailants into the ground. As Grace dropped, she span in mid-air and dove head-first into another rift, emerging to XaXa's left and yelled; "Reality Dragon's Pronged Plumage!" Her magic-enhanced headbutt knocked them both sideways.

The Machine Caliber struggled to its one remaining knee, and tried to formulate a sphere of gravity to fly, but its circuitry was too badly damaged. It struggled, before collapsing.

XaXa growled as he struggled out of it. "Fine! I was better off without you!" he moaned, picking himself up.

And then Necrozma blasted him with a Photon Geyser, sending the Coffin sprawling.

The assassin groaned, rounding on the Legendary as he sat up and raised a hand. "Yatto kachi jan!" he declared, and blasted the crystalline being with dark magic.

Necrozma snorted in irritation at the weak attack.

"Grace, I think it's time to wrap this up!" Pierce shouted, eyeing the wormhole above them. Was it just him, or did it look smaller than before?

"You got it!" Grace called back, eyeing her two opponents as Necrozma, its focus squarely on XaXa, advanced on the exhausted wizard. She grinned, reality rippling around her claws and tail, and opened exactly six rifts; one in front of her, four to her opponents' left, right, in front of and behind them, and one on the ground between them. Then she spread her arms, and generated a massive sphere of reality that encapsulated and trapped her enemies inside with her, before cupping her fingers together. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art," Grace barked, forming a sphere of energy between her hands, before reversing her grip and forcing it outwards. As she sent it flying, she declared; "Dark Matter; Black Flare Supernova!"

The attack shot through the first rift and smashed into Necrozma's back, bowling it over and hitting XaXa, before continuing into the second rift. This warp reversed its trajectory and moved it ninety degrees, causing it to hit them both side on, before passing into the third rift, which allowed the attack to surge up from underground and hit them a _third_ time. The final detonation knocked both enemies into the air, before sending them crashing to the ground.

Grace grinned through her fangs as the bent realities reverted, and Pierce came over to her. "I'd ask if you're feeling alright, but I don't think I need to worry about that," he joked, and Grace, turning to look at him, grinned, raising her arms and curling her tail around her leg. "I feel great!" she confirmed.

"I'm glad, but we need to get back. That wormhole up there is starting to close," Pierce pointed out, gesturing at the portal above them. Grace looked up and nodded; it did seem smaller. But it was still plenty large enough for them to pass through. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to be trapped here," she agreed. "I can handle this, though. Should we bring him?" she asked, gesturing to XaXa.

Pierce wandered over and checked the assassin's pulse. Still alive, which almost surprised him, considering how brutal Grace had been. "Probably," he nodded. "We should leave this thing . . Necrozma, I think it was," he declared, regarding the jet black beast in curiosity as he dragged XaXa away. "I think it was angry that we tricked it?"

"Tricked it about what?" his sister questioned.

"I don't know," Pierce mused.

"We probably never will," Grace shrugged, and immediately warped all three of them straight into the wormhole. Pierce barely even registered what was happening before he was back in the Nexus.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Hands up. Who expected this to be how XaXa was fought? XD**

 **And of course I let Necrozma make a cameo appearance. I have a soft spot for that poor creature. :3 Of course, I'm sure he has plenty of soft spots after that beating . . .**

 **Peace!**


	9. Companionship

Chapter 79: Companionship

Heathcliff was seated at his desk, in his office at the home base of the Knights of the Blood Oath, working through some late-night paperwork, when there was a pop and a message materialised in front of him. Snatching it out of the air before it could fall into his cup of tea, he smiled - anything to distract him, however briefly, from the trials of running a guild was welcome.

He unrolled the paper, immediately recognising it as the message he had previously sent to the man Sarph.

 _Greetings and salutations to the indomitable Heathcliff._

 _As you can probably tell, I, Sarph, have taken it upon myself to immediately return your letter. Unfortunately, you are mistaken - shortly after the boss raid, Swilvane was assaulted by the murder guild known as Laughing Coffin, and we have subsequently been employed to aid in an assault with the end goal of eradicating the murder guild._

 _Surprisingly, we encountered a detachment of your guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath. Of course, they have done nothing less than I expected by agreeing to aid us, which gratifies me. And I must say, their leader, whom of course you will be familiar with, is a very impressive man. You must be extremely proud of the successes brought to your guild by Kuradeel, and -_

The elderly man's eyes widened, and he spat out his tea. The brown liquid stained the page, rendering it unreadable, as he spluttered, _"Kuradeel?!"_

-[CoT]-

"Go away,"

The wolf didn't listen, continuing to pace at Artorias' heels.

Artorias sighed. Every time he told it to stop following him, the wolf ignored him. "Do you even understand me?" he questioned the beast.

The wolf was unresponsive.

Artorias sighed again. He'd been wandering through the dungeon for at least a couple of hours now. In all that time, he hadn't seen anything except hostile monsters and the irritatingly persistent wolf.

On the bright side, if he ever got out of here, all the money and gear that the mobs had dropped would probably make him rich, he reflected, looking back at the impromptu sledge that he had constructed to haul the drops around.

Looking around, he was currently in a large chamber that he had just finished clearing the monsters out of, and his feet were starting to get sore. Spotting a small side chamber, he decided that a quick break couldn't hurt, and made his way over to the cave.

When he got there, he discovered that the cave was actually a nest of «Venomous Arachnids», black and yellow spiders, presided over by a purple variant called «Venomous Queen Dnach». He wasted no time in slaughtering them all, which caused a new pile of gold, as well as a few ropes seemingly made of spider silk, to appear at his feet. Knowing that this meant the cave wasn't safe, he sighed, scooped the drops onto the sled, and continued walking.

A moment later, he felt a pricking sensation in his back, but thought nothing of it.

Until the wall spoke to him. "Did you just kill a nest of «Venomous Arachnids»?" it asked, sounding displeased.

"Yeah. So?" Artorias shrugged.

"That was a mistake. I quite like «Venomous Arachnids». They remind me of myself," the wall sighed.

"What does a talking wall have in common with poisonous spiders?" Artorias asked.

And then the «Invisibility» effect ended, revealing Johnny Black, clad in his signature sack mask and wielding a blowgun, standing a few feet away. "Well, they're dangerous. They kill people by poisoning them. They're resourceful, capable of adapting, and are completely merciless," he explained.

"I see," Artorias nodded. "Also, thank you for coming to find me,"

Johnny blinked. "Why are you thanking me?"

"Because you're going to show me the way out," Artorias declared, raising a hand, and a mass of blood rushed out of the ground and wrapped around the Corfin, immediately congealing and trapping him.

"And why would I do that?" Johnny questioned.

"Because, eventually, you'll get hungry. And I have all this food that dropped from those monsters," Artorias indicated the sledge full of drops, which the wolf was standing over protectively. "I'm fully equipped to just stay here and wait for days. You, on the other hand, will get hungry sooner or later," he shrugged.

Johnny raised his eyebrows in amusement. "That's cold," he nodded appreciatively. "I didn't think a guild wizard could have that level of brutality in him," Artorias simply snorted in response.

"But there's one thing you don't seem to have factored in," the assassin observed with a cold smile. "And that is the fact that I poisoned you right before you trapped me. And you'll die from the poison far sooner than I'll die of starvation, and after that it's only a matter of time until I get out of this,"

Artorias blinked. The prickling sensation he had just felt. Of course. He frowned, considering this unexpected development. His Blood magic could slow down the poisoning, but not completely negate it. This was bad . . . "The antidote. Where is it?" he demanded.

"You think I'm just going to give it to you?" Johnny scoffed.

Meanwhile, the Blood Wizard breathed a sigh of relief, if there hadn't been one, he'd b in some real trouble. But now, he just had to convince the poisoner to give it to him. "Thank you for confirming that there is one," Artorias smiled, and Johnny cursed at his slip.

"Now, I just need to make you give it to me," the Blood Wizard observed. "I wonder if you keep it on your person?"

"Don't be stupid. Why would I do that?" the poisoner argued. "If anyone were to knock me unconscious, they could search my person and find it. That would make things altogether far too easy," he snorted.

"Well, obviously you must have access to it, in the event that someone were to . . use one of your own poisons against you," Artorias murmured in dawning realisation.

"Don't even try," Johnny shook his head. "You really think no one's tried that before? Use the same poison on me that I've used on them to force me to fetch them the antidote? Please. I've exposed myself to so many kinds of poisons, toxins, radiations, diseases . . my body's immune to just about everything. But if you don't believe me, go ahead. Inject me with every poison I'm carrying. We'll see who dies first,"

Artorias frowned, pausing for a moment to think. As he considered his next move, he was aware of a certain _something_ nudging at his leg. He looked down and saw the wolf pawing at him and looking up. Once it had gotten his attention, the beast paced over to a point a little ways past Johnny, sniffed at the ground, before looking up.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" the S-Class surmised, taking a step towards him. In response, the wolf took another step, but at an angle to him, as though following a path that only it could see.

Artorias blinked as this thought occurred to him. Or, perhaps, a path only it could smell. "Have you picked up Johnny's scent?" he questioned, and the wolf enthusiastically nodded. "So you could follow the path he took to get here . . back to Laughing Coffin's lair!" the boy realised, smiling.

"What?" the assassin blinked, craning his immobile neck to follow the two.

"Well, lead on," Artorias commanded, and, with an excited yip, the wolf led on, its master following closely.

"What - wait! You can't do that! That's cheating! You - you shouldn't trust that wolf! It's a mob! You can't trust mobs!"

"You also can't trust assassins!" Artorias called over his shoulder in a sing-song voice as he followed the wolf, dragging his sled of drops.

-[CoT]-

Pierce and Grace entered back into the Nexus; the Tamer dragging XaXa's prone form by the foot.

"I still don't get this place," Grace admitted, flicking her Dragon Force tail in confusion. "It's, like, a massive room of portals, and each one leads to a different world. But why? Who built it?"

"Maybe it was a god," Pierce wondered. "Only they could have this kind of power,"

"Unown, Unown," the letter-shaped creatures pulsed in excitement, seeing the Phoenixes, and Pierce watched as they spelt out words before them; 'THANK-YOU-FOR-DEFEATING-BAD-MAN-XAXA!'

"Just doing our jobs," Pierce shrugged,and Grace nodded emoathetically.

'TO-SHOW-OUR-GRATITUDE-WE-HAVE-FULFILLED-YOUR-EARLIER-REQUEST'

The two blinked. "Um . . what request?" Pierce blinked. Earlier, he had been trying to ask the Unown if they could make something for him, but he'd been interrupted by Grace screaming "Run!". All they'd heard had been "I want you to create a run," How did that compose a request?

Suddenly, the cloud of Unown parted, revealing a small, white creature with stubby limbs and blue eyes. The being blinked curiously, and then his eyes fixed on Pierce and he dashed towards the Tamer, excitedly squealing; "Aron!" Simultaneously, the Tamer heard a young voice calling _"Master!"_

Pierce blinked as the little white creature paused at his feet, looking up at him expectantly. "Ron?" he chirped. _"Master?"_

"An . ." he trailed off, confused.

"Aron?" Grace questioned, raising a confused eyebrow.

Looking up, thy realised the Unown were spelling something again. 'AN-ARON-IS-A-KIND-OF-POKÉMON-A-SORT-OF-ANIMAL-FROM-THE-WORLD-YOU-JUST-VISITED-THAT-CAN-ONLY-SAY-THEIR-NAMES-WE-CREATED-ONE-FOR-YOU-DO-YOU-LIKE-HIM?'

Pierce blinked, rapidly filing away the information. It seemed logical that that Necrozma beast must have been a Pokemon, so he accepted that. He looked down at the little creature, which only came up to his knee, sniffing at his feet, and the blood drained from his face as he realised the implications. "Yeah. He's cute," he absently nodded.

When he looked back up, the tantalising words were hanging in front of him; 'WHAT-DO-YOU-DESIRE?'

Reflexively, Pierce gulped.

-[CoT]-

Artorias gritted his teeth. He was using his Blood Magic to slow the progress of the poison, but he couldn't completely stop his blood flow, or he'd die. So he had to endure, and feel the poison slowly, steadily, working his way through his body.

His companion didn't seem to feel his urgency; the wolf meandered along, sniffing at the ground, following the winding trail of Johnny Black's invisible footprints.

"I don't suppose you could . . I don't know . . speed up?" Artorias suggested.

The wolf cast him a glance, whimpered, and started moving a little faster. A smile tugged at the Phoenix's lips. So maybe having the wolf around wasn't such a bad thing.

There was a clatter, and suddenly a pair of skeletons erupted from the ground, carrying stone swords and leering at the two with empty eyeholes. The wolf loooed up and growled, but Artorias wasn't having any of it. "Bleeding Slicer," he cast, and razor-sharp slicks of blood emancipated the decayed corpses.

"I miss Fiore. Things make sense there," Artorias sighed.

-[CoT]-

With flashes of light, the «Venomous Arachnids» that Artorias had killed earlier respawned in their cave/nest.

One, inquisitive, crawled to the edge of the cave and took cautious glances around. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

With one exception. There was an odd, reddish pink object attached to the ground. It looked as though it might have once held something, but it had been torn open and whatever had once been there was gone.

Taking no heed, the Arachnid returned to the nest.

As it went, strange words echoed through the area, of which it took no heed; "Matto slalo kwelke dwusaguli dwusagul shaja dweren,"

-[CoT]-

Artorias' blood senses went off, and he span around, expecting to see a monster. But there was nothing there. He frowned, raising an eyebrow.

The wolf stiffened too. Artorias, of course, noticed, and realised he had turned his head and pointed his snout at a spot behind them and to their left.

The S-Class frowned, reaching out with his blood sense. While he could tell that something wasn't quite right, the wolf was obviously able to pinpoint the invisible enemy in a way that he could not. Artorias resisted the urge to attack, knowing that it was probably Johnny again. He couldn't tip his hand.

"What is it?" he asked the creature, who made an odd noise in the base of his throat.

"Is something wrong?" He had complete control over his countenance, acting as though he was uncertain of the situation. He could not allow Johnny Black to know that he knew he was there.

Provided it _was_ him, of course.

And then he saw it. A shadow. A two-dimensional humanoid figure outlined against the frosty stones underfoot. Artorias' eyes widened imperceptibly for just a moment as he came to a realisation; whatever magic Johnny was using to render himself invisible, it did not obscure his shadow!

Shrugging and pretending that he hadn't noticed anything, Artorias turned and kept walking. "Come on," he told the wolf, who grumbled, but followed.

As soon as he started walking, he felt the presence move, perfectly in step with his own footsteps. Artorias hid a smile. Hiding the noise of his footsteps by perfectly timing them to coincide with his own footfalls? That was an impressive trick. He'd almost admire Johnny for it if the circumstances were different.

There was a rustle, and suddenly three large, muscular mobs erupted from the ground. Artorias blinked and braced himself as the three muscular «Moleman Explorers», muscular, man-like creatures wearing yellow hard hats, with thick pink noses snuffling at the air, and their three-fingered, clawed hands each clutching a massive, heavy-looking pickaxe.

The leader of the trio snuffled at the air and let out a wordless grunt, before charging forwards and bringing his pickaxe back to deliver a crushing impact to Artorias' skull. The Blood wizard threw up a shield of condensed blood to deflect it, before ducking backwards as the second one lunged forwards and delivered a sideways sweep. Drawing «Sleepless Dream» with a flourish, he willed the weapon into a battle axe form and turned to deflect the impending attack from the third muscular Moleman.

Except it wasn't there. Instead, it had walked straight past him and was in pursuit of a fleeing shadow that wasn't attached to anything.

Artorias blinked as he noticed this. Of course. The Molemen were almost blind - they relied on smell to move around and track their enemies. Invisibility meant nothing to them.

And he was still fighting two of them, he recalled, narrowly avoiding having his skull caved in by an attack from his first attacker. He whirled around with the «Sleepless Dream» and cleaved the monster's head from its shoulders, before turning to engage the second.

He found it having just thrown his wolf across the room.

Artorias' jaw set. "Bleeding Tsumani!" he commanded, throwing up a massive wash of blood that threw the mob backwards, knocking it to the ground and enveloping it in blood that, at Artorias' command, rapidly congealed around it, trapping it.

Knowing it would only be minutes before the monster suffocated, Artorias turned, knowing that Johnny Black was probably somewhere in the vicinity.

Some metres away, the third of the «Moleman Explorers» collapsed to the ground, rapidly disintegrating, and a flash caused the drops, a meagre pile of coins, to materialise at a spot that was no doubt directly in front of Johnny Black.

As if on cue, the «Invisibility» effect faded, bringing the man, with his signature burlap sack mask covering his head, back into view. "Well, hello again," Johnny grinned, before charging forwards, a dagger in hand.

Artorias held up his own weapon, prepared to engage once more, as Johnny rapidly closed the distance.

Behind them, with a hiss, the trapped «Moleman Explorer» finally ran out of oxygen and disintegrated, and, with a flash, the coins it dropped materialised at Artorias' feet. Artorias, on edge and expecting an attack, leapt back before he realised that it was just drops.

And Johnny, committed to his headlong charge, was unable to stop himself before he tripped on the pile of coins, crashed to the ground, and skidded to a halt at Artorias' feet.

The S-Class immediately placed a foot on the poisoner's back, pinning him in place. "Tell me, am I going to have to do this a third time?" he questioned, his tone belying his impatience.

"Fine, you win," Johnny grumbled.

"Good," Artorias declared as the «Sleepless Dream» shifted into warhammer mode, and he brought it down on the Coffin's skull, knocking him unconscious.

After a moment's thought, he rolled him onto his back and tugged at the burlap mask. It came away, revealing the face of a roughly-shaven young man beneath.

Artorias tched. "I think I liked you better with the mask on," he decided, stuffing the sack back over his face.

Behind him, the wolf crawled up, whimpering, and Artorias turned, eyeing it. "Are you alright?" he asked, and the beast nodded, looking downcast.

"Then what are you waiting for? Keep following that trail. We still need to find the antidote to whatever he got me with," Artorias declared.

Nodding, the wolf turned and began sniffing at the ground once more.

-[CoT]-

"We need to get out of here," Pierce told Grace.

"That, uh, shouldn't be hard," she pointed out, gesturing openly at the hundreds of portals surrounding them. At some point shortly after returning to the Nexus, the girl's Dragon Force had shut down, returning her to normal. Unfortunately, they had accidentally left the «Starswept Veil» in the Pokemon world after it had come dislodged, but Grace didn't lament the loss; she hadn't really liked it anyway.

"No, I mean, back to Aincrad. To meet our friends,"

"Why not ask the Unown?" Grace questioned, looking around at the Unown surrounding them. "Also, why are we whispering?"

"Because I'm kind of scared of them now," the Tamer admitted.

"Why? They're cute!" the Dragon Slayer pointed out.

In response, Pierce gestured at the little metal creature waiting patiently at his feet. Aron squeaked in excitement at the recognition, and affectionately butted his face, coated in white metal as it was, against Pierce's knee. The Tamer's jaw tightened, but he didn't react. "They created this little guy -"

"Aron!" the Pokémon chirped, and he nodded. "Aron. Out of _nothing_ ," he stressed the word. "In minutes. Think about that for a second. What else could they create?"

Grace thought for a second, then brightened and eagerly suggested; "An infinite supply of chocolate?!"

"Or an infinite _army_ for any tinpot tyrant to take over the world with," Pierce retorted.

His sister paused, her smile drooping. "I think I preferred the chocolate . ."

"We can't tell anyone about this place," Pierce resolved. "Not even our friends,"

"I don't think they'd want to take over the world?" Grace questioned, and her brother shook his head. "Of course not. But what if someone read their minds? Or tortured them to get the information about this place? We'd be putting them in danger - it's bad enough that the two of us know," he groused, looking around. "Not to mention, if there's a different world behind each one of these portals, it wouldn't just be our world that would be in jeopardy if someone bad found out about this Nexus. It would be everything. Every world. Everywhere," he gulped.

"Oh," Grace murmured. She hadn't considered that.

"Besides, Artorias is still in trouble. And our friends are all still fighting Laughing Coffin. We may have defeated XaXa, but there's still Prince and Johnny Black -" The words died in Pierce's throats as something occurred to him. "Laughing Coffin. XaXa said as much. He knew all about this place," he murmured, looking around.

"So Laughing Coffin has acess to the Nexus?" Grace realised.

"They must. So . . why haven't they used it?" Pierce blinked.

-[CoT]-

The remaining Phoenixes and the Knights of the Blood had just finished defeating a named monster that they had run into. The disappearing corpse of «Frozen Sentinel Avarever», a purple-tinted «Ice Golem», gave one final moan as the drops materialised at Sigurd, Sarph and Kuradeel's feet.

"How are you lot holding up?" Kuradeel questioned, looking over at the Phoenixes and Sigurd.

"I can do this all day," Sarph grinned back at him. "Everyone?"

Tyria nodded, resolute. "I'm gonna keep going until we find the others,"

Fleur nodded, and Hare shrugged. "I'm fine," she snorted, folding her arms, as though daring anyone to disagree.

Sigurd merely hefted his sword, not deigning to respond.

"Excellent. That said, a little boost never goes awry," Kuradeel smiled affably, reaching into his pockets and producing a cluster of small glass bottles, which he offered to the Phoenixes. "It's a stimulant. Should help keep your energy up," he suggested.

"Score. Thanks," Tyria grinned, snatching two and passing one to Fleur. Sigurd also happily accepted one, and Hare scrutinised the clutch with her familiar disdain, before accepting one with a grunt that could, at a stretch, be interpreted as approval.

"I appreciate it, but I'll pass. I shall be fine," Sarph assured them, and, looking a little miffed, Kuradeel pocketed the final bottle once again. "Very well. Shall we press on?" he suggested, inching towards the door that led to the next part of the frozen dungeon.

Sarph was about to respond, but there was a sudden 'pop' and a letter materialised in front of him. "Huh?" he blinked, snatching the scroll out of mid-air. "Hey, Heathcliff wrote back to me!"

Kuradeel stiffened.

The knight eagerly unrolled the parchment and read. The letter, though, was brief, and seemed to have been written in a hurry.

 _Sarph,_

 _DO NOT TRUST KURADEEL! He is a traitor. He was a former member of the Knights, however he was expelled after he murdered his commanding officer and attempted to murder another member of the guild whom he had a dispute with. My sources tell me that he subsequently_ became _a member of Laughing Coffin. Do not believe a word he says!_

The knight's eyes widened, and he looked up in horror.

Just then, there was a moan, and Sarph spun as Hare suddenly collapsed. Fleur soon followed. Tyria gritted her teeth, with an audible hum of machinery trying to counteract the draught, before she, too, collapsed. Sigurd, finally, spluttered, clutching st his thrown, before collapsing.

"Poison?" Sarph challenged, glaring at Kuradeel.

In response, the man glared at him, before throwing out a thumbs-down - and his legion shot into action. Spinning «Tenshi Meiyo» in his hand, Sarph deflected two arrows, before frantically dodging a poorly aimed spell and using the seconds the dodge had bought him to throw up a wall of Archive screens, which the rest of the attacks aimed at him clattered off. He stood, alone, facing the congregated men, led by Kuradeel.

"Damn Heathcliff," the man spat, pulling off a Knight-red gauntlet, throwing it to the ground and stamping on it. "We were doing such a good job of fooling you, too,"

"You're no knight," Sarph growled, glaring with unrestrained vehemence at the other man. "How dare you sully the legendary Knights by wearing their armour?"

"You really think I give a crap about any of that?" Kuradeel snorted. "You've just never felt it; that rush, that energy you feel when you kill someone, just for the hell of it!" A manic smile slowly spread across his face as he spoke, and he hefted his sword, pointing it at the true knight. "And you never will. But I'll definitely get a rush out of killing you,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **There, that should get your attention. Now, as everyone knows I have outlined the plot of the entire story of Phoenix's Eye going forward. I designed this outline on the basis that Alvarez Empire was the final story arc of Fairy Tail, and it would therefore be the penultimate story arc of Phoenix's Eye, followed by one great, final arc of this story to bring everything full circle.**

 **Thing is, apparently Alvarez is** ** _not_** **the end of Fairy Tail. I recently discovered that Hiro Mashima has decided to pen a continuation of the story, called "Fairy Tail: The 100 Years Quest". I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand,** ** _yay more Fairy Tail!_** **On the other; I started Phoenix's Eye with the provision that** ** _all_** **of the source material was complete and available for me to work from. So, needless to say, depending on how it goes, 'The 100 Years Quest' might throw a** ** _major_** **wrench into my plans. Even all this new lore about the 'Five God Dragons' is already starting to simultaneously cause and resolve issues that I've been having . . .**

 **Ultimately, I don't yet know what exactly this means for Phoenix's Eye. We'll need to wait and see how the events and lore of 'The Hundred-Year Quest' pan out before I can make any concrete decisions. Worst comes to the worst, though, I'll just go with the original plan and pretend like Alvarez really is the end of the canon. Ultimately, we'll just have to wait and see. But I'm not going to stop this fic, one way or another.**

 **Now, onto our regularly scheduled discussion of the chapter.**

 **Anyone who knows the source material for Sword Art Online will have seen Kuradeel's betrayal coming. I'd like to think I made it suitably surprising for those who haven't, though. Feel free to tell me in a review.**

 **And hello, Aron! Looks like Pierce has a new companion. And isn't he a cute little pocket monster? But I don't know what's up with the voices Pierce has been hearing. It couldn't possibly be the case that the Sempiternal Phoenix activated some latent ability that Pierce has always possessed or anything.**

 **Speaking of which, just in case you missed it, I've also made some minor retcons to Chapters 77 and 78 to accomodate this. Of course, by virtue of the nature of these retcons, eventually everyone will know about them. And they're not super urgent or anything, all you really need to know is that Pierce was hearing voices during the fights against Waheela and Necrozma. And it's not just that Necrozma is Psychic.**

 **Anyway. Peace!**


	10. The Blood Oath

Chapter 80: The Blood Oath

Sarph gritted his teeth, holding the black blade of «Tenshi Meiyo» high. It was him, guarding the incapacitated Tyria, Fleur, Hare and Sigurd, against Kuradeel and the twenty or so so-called Knights of the Blood Oath. Though he had a mounting suspicion that they were actually the unaccounted-for members of Laughing Coffin.

"So, are these bozos the remainder of Laughing Coffin?" he asked, just to confirm.

"Correct," Kuradeel nodded. "Though my group here isn't our entire membership. The top three are out and about, while some of the lower-ranks are also on assignments at present,"

"I think that's all the information I need about that," A sour expression crossed the knight's face as he spoke.

And suddenly Kuradeel charged, bringing his sword back to deliver a piercing thrust. Sarph span his sword and defected the thrust, throwing an arm to the ornaments on his hips, prepared to fire off a laser from the boosters.

And Kuradeel kicked him in the crotch.

Sarph gritted his teeth as a spasm wracked his body, and he resisted the urge to collapse as the two disengaged. "What kind of knight pulls a dirty trick like that?" he hissed.

The man scoffed. "Are you seriously still hung up on those pathetic _ideals_?" he spat. "Those silly guidelines hold you back. If you want to win, you have to be ruthless!" he declared, launching into another attack. Raising am arm, Sarph manifested an Archive Screen and the solidified light blocked the strike. "Scoff all you like," the Phoenix declared as he countered with a swinging stroke to Kuradeel's hip that bounced off his armour, "but I know you haven't completely abandoned the knight's code,"

"And how do you figure that?" the former Knight huffed.

"You could order your friends over there to gang up on me any time," Sarph pointed out. "But you've kept this fight as a one on one duel,"

Kuradeel's eyebrows slid upwards. "You're right," he mused. "Everyone? Fire at will," he smirked, gesturing approvingly at his companions.

Sarph blinked. He hadn't expected that - crap! He frantically threw up a shield of Archive screens as the vast majority of the Laughing Coffin guildspeople, many of whom had shed their bright red/white armour in favour of the assortment of muted colours no doubt favoured by psychopaths, launched a variety of projectiles at him.

On instinct, Sarph threw up another shield of Archive screens. An idea struck him, and he quickly extended the shield towards the door that led further into the dungeon. Quickly turning, he picked up the lithe forms of Tyria and Fleur and hoisted them onto his broad shoulders, before grabbing Hare and Sigurd's arms and dragging them towards the door.

Kuradeel's face twisted into a grimace. "Stop them!" He commanded, and, obediently, several of the Coffins rushed up to the wall and began battering at it, while a couple of the more intelligent ones made for the part of the wall next to the door. But it was to no avail; by the time they managed to break through, Sarph and his cargo had already made it to the corridor. The man dropped the original shield and threw up a thicker, more compact barrier in the door. With that done, he continued to pelt down the corridor, carrying his allies with him.

Frantically, Sarph looked around, searching for something, anything, that could help. There weren't any monsters in the vicinity, which was lucky, and he spotted a side archway with a door hanging open. Ducking inside, he found himself in a room, with an oaken chest sitting in the centre.

Regarding the sole feature of the otherwise plain room, Sarph walked up to it and, releasing Sigurd's arm, experimentally tried to lift the lid.

Three things happened in perfect unison.

First, the chest disintegrated beneath his touch.

Second, the door swung shut behind him.

And thirdly, hatches in the ceiling fell open, allowing several monsters to drop into the room. Sarph tensed, dropping his guildmates and drawing «Tenshi Meiyo» as, in seconds, he was surrounded by an assortment of «Venomous Arachnids» and «Ice Golems», presided over by a «Giant Snail».

Sarph blinked in surprise. ". . Sure, whatever," he shrugged, ignoring the «Giant Snail» in favour of dispatching the remainder of the mobs, before eyeing the other creature.

The knight brandished his sword menacingly. In response, the monster curled up and shrunk into its shell, leaving no part of its body exposed.

A quick glance behind him told him that the door was still sealed, and Sarph guessed that it would be until he dispatched this mob. But how, he wondered, lowering his sword and stepping away. Like clockwork, the snail reemerged and continued inching towards him.

"Cut off its eyes. Then it won't be able to know when you're around and won't get enough warning to defend itself," Sarph looked over in surprise to see Sigurd groggily propping himself back up. "Alright," he nodded, bringing his sword back for a horizontal slash. But a strange feeling suddenly overcame him, and he paused, looking back at the sword - just in time to see it begin to glow with a pale blue light.

And then, acting on instincts other than his own, Sarph suddenly lunged forward, enemy trailing form his blade as he cut at the snail, perfectly severing its eye-stalks.

"What was that?" he wondered, eyeing «Tenshi Meiyo» in curiosity.

"You've never used a «Sword Skill» before?" Sigurd questioned as he picked himself back up.

"Ah, no, I suppose not," Sarph shook his head as the now eyeless snail emerged from its shell again, choosing a random direction and slithering towards the wall. It was an easy target, and, within moments, it shrivelled up and died, the shell crumbling to dust as the drops materialised at Sarph's feet. "So, what are these Sword Skills?"

"They're called «Sword Skills». They're special spells that can be used by wielders of Alfheimic weapons," Sigurd grunted, steadying himself.

"Fascinating," Sarph mused, considering the implications. After losing his sword during the fight against Kairos End, he was fully aware that his arsenal had been reduced significantly. Without the Spell-Shattering Sigil Solamion (he blinked away a tear), he was no longer capable of cutting through the connection between a wizard and their Spell. But perhaps these Sword - ahem. «Sword Skills» might help him recoup his loss.

"We shouldn't stay here. The monsters might respawn," Sigurd pointed out, picking up Hare's unconscious form.

"True," Sarph nodded, carrying Tyria and Fleur and making for the exit. "Hey. How did you recover from the poison so quickly?"

"I've been inoculated against most chemical agents native to Alfheim. I'm guessing your friends . . haven't," Sigurd shrugged as they exited the room. "Come on. Those goddamn gankers are probably still around here somewhere,"

-[CoT]-

"Damnit. They've given us the slip somehow," Kuradeel cursed, looking around at his troops.

There was a moment of silence as the Coffins looked at each other. What did he expect them to do?

"Well? What are you waiting for? I know you lot weren't picked for your brains, but this should not need to be spelt out! Find them!" the turncoat roared. Hastily nodding, the group dispersed.

-[CoT]-

As the two men thundered down the hall, they spotted a trio of assassins running towards them. "There they are! Get them!" one shouted, spurring his teammates into action.

"I'll handle this," Sigurd declared, raising an arm. "Futto mezal jan!" A blast of energy shot from his hand and exploded into a cloud of smoke, blinding their assailants. Having done that, he raised his sword and launched forwards into a six-strike combination Sword Skill called «Golden Stripe» that immediately dispatched the three.

As the smoke cleared, Sigurd, still carrying Hare, turned and nodded to Sarph. "Let's keep going," he declared - and then the floor dropped out, plunging both Sylphs into a hole.

Sarph gasped as the two vanished, charging down the corridor and looking into the abyss - seconds before it sealed behind them. "Oh, crap," he gulped. "Why do we keep getting split up?" the knight moaned.

Taking a second to run a headcount, Sarph realised that there were now four distinct groups affiliated with Phoenix's Eye in the Twenty-Eighth Floor Dungeon. Himself and the still-unconscious Tyria and Fleur, Pierce and Grace, Hare and Sigurd, and Artorias alone. "We need to get back together," he resolved. In lieu of any way to reopen the trapdoor, Sarph charged down the corridor, carrying Tyria and Fleur with him. "Come on, ladies, wake up," he muttered.

Reaching another room, a grating noise alerted him to the presence of another pair of «Ice Golems». "I'm really getting sick of these things," Sarph grumbled, dropping the two recovering Phoenixes at the doorway and engaging the two mobs.

In minutes, the second Golem's head was falling to the ground, before shattering into blue polygons. Sarph grinned as the drops materialised at his feet, before inspecting them critically.

"I assure you, those are all trash mats. Don't even bother picking them up," a cool voice interrupted him. Shocked, Sarph wheeled and saw Kuradeel standing over Tyria and Fleur. Blearily, Tyria's eyes opened, only to immediately go wide as the tip of a sword was pointed at her throat. "Go on," Kuradeel whispered down at her, a malicious light in his eyes. "Give me a reason,"

And then a golden laser of Archive magic blew him off his feet and sent him stumbling backwards.

Wearily sitting up, Tyria looked around. "What happened?"

"Kuradeel is evil, we got separated from Hare and Sigurd, keep an eye on Fleur while I take care of this!" Sarph summarised as he leapt over the two girls and charged at the recovering Kuradeel, «Tenshi Meiyo» at the ready. The fallen knight, having landed on his rear, looked up at him with wide eyes and a scared expression as Sarph committed to the attack, driving his sword forwards in hopes of landing a crippling blow.

And then his face changed to a wicked sneer.

Sarph had just enough time to realise the ramifications of this, before another member of Laughing Coffin dropped from the roof and landed on his back, laughing like a hyena as he used his left arm to get the angelic knight in a headlock. He raised a knife, before bringing it slashing down into his hip.

Sarph cried out in agony, feeling the red-hot pain lance up his spine as the laughing assassin retracted his knife and brought it back for another stab.

"TechType: Tectonic!" A massive blue/silver metal fist knocked the assassin away, sending him crashing into the recovering Kuradeel. A dark-skinned hand appeared in his vision, and Sarph let Tyria pull him up. The Electrian eyed the stab wound in concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," the S-Class confirmed, and a golden screen wrapped around the wound, sealing it. Reaching down with his left hand, still griping «Tenshi Meiyo» with the right, he grasped one of the flight boosters attached to his hip and aimed it at the two Coffins, before discharging a laser of golden energy.

Taking a second to rake the ceiling, just in case any more assailants were waiting in the wings, Sarph lunged forwards, brandishing his black sword. "Yield!" he barked, hovering over the two Coffins.

"No," Kuradeel spat, raising an arm and beginning an Invocation. "Yatto nyafe jesuppa myetazha-"

His teammate looked at him in consternation. "That's a self-destruct spell! What are you thinking?" he demanded

"-brathnaso myetazhabrathnu jan!" Kuradeel looked up with a savage grin, prepared to deliver one last stinging line - but Sarph was already running down the corridor, leaving a wall of Archive screens in his wake, as soon as he heard the word 'self-destruct'.

And then a critical, incredible amount of dark magic erupted from Kuradeel's body. His teammate was immediately engulfed with a horrified scream, and the explosion, funnelled by the tunnel, battered against the first of the reinforced Archive screens, smashing it in seconds.

As a series of concussive detonations heralded each of his sequential shields shattering, Sarph scooped up Tyria in one hand and Fleur in the other, dragging them out of the corridor and into the room where he had just destroyed the «Ice Golems». As soon as he was through the doorway, he flung himself and his passengers sideways, sliding across the icy floor and out of the blast radius, just as the erupting dark magic exploded out of the tunnel where they had been mere seconds ago.

Sarph and Tyria looked at one another in concern. "What the hell was that?" Tyria, very much awake now, questioned.

"It turns out that a function of Alfheimic magic is to blow yourself up," the knight asserted.

As the smoke cleared, the two Phoenixes left Fleur and peered back into the tunnel, which was still clogged with black smoke. "Think he's still alive?" Tyria asked.

There was a faint whooshing noise and a flash of purple light, and Sarph yanked her backwards as a second explosive detonation burst from the tunnel. The sheer concussive force blew them backwards and sent the Phoenixes slamming into the wall behind them.

"I'm pretty certain that no one could have survived _two_ blasts like that," the S-Class commented.

"Well, he must have survived the first, or how could he use the second?" Tyria questioned, and Sarph shook his head. "No. I heard the incantation; he repeated the effect verb, _myetazhabrathnu_ -"

"Myeta-what?" Tyria parroted with a weary smile.

"Alfheimic world for 'self-destruct'," Sarph chuckled. "Point is, he said it twice in the Spell, so he blew himself up twice, and the second blast would have happened even if the first blast killed him,"

"But he is dead, right?" Tyria checked.

"Almost definitely, and if not, he's certainly down. Come on," Sarph declared, picking himself up and scooping up Fleur. "Let's go find the others,"

-[CoT]-

"You're being silly," Grace chided her brother. They had been searching the Nexus for an exit for an hour now, and the young Dragon Slayer was thoroughly sick of it. "Excuse me? Unown?"

The floating letters with eyes immediately clustered around her.

"It's been really nice being here and meeting all of you, but we need to get back to our friends. Could you please show us the way out?" Grace politely requested.

The Unown chattered, chorusing "Unown, Unown," before spelling out a short sentence.

'W-E-R-E-S-O-R-R-Y-B-U-T-W-E-C-A-N-T'

"Really?" Grace blinked, her lips drooping. Pierce hastily rushed over to her, not wanting to miss what the Unown were saying - or to not be present if Grace needed comforting.

The Unown's eyes went wide, not wanting to see the adorable little girl upset, and they hastily spelled out a new sentence.

'B-U-T-W-E-K-N-O-W-S-O-M-E-O-N-E-W-H-O-C-A-N-?'

"Really? Who?" Pierce questioned, as Grace raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Is this what you need my help with?" an unfamiliar voice emerged behind them, and the two wizards wheeled to find a young girl, around Grace's age, standing behind them, with pale skin and long, loose black hair, wearing a simple white dress. The child paid them no attention, focusing on the Unown as they spelled out 'Y-E-S'.

"Okay," she nodded, before addressing the Phoenixes, who were staring at her in confusion and curiosity. "What do you need?"

"Where did you come from?" Pierce blinked; he was certain that the little girl hadn't been standing there before - but then he remembered where he was. "Wait, nevermind, that's not important. We ended up here by mistake, and now we need to get back to our friends. They're in the dungeon on the Twenty-Eighth Floor of Aincrad,"

"Also, that guy needs to go to jail," Grace added, pointing at the unconscious Red-Eyed XaXa on the other side of the room.

"Really?" the girl blinked, humming thoughtfully. "I can deal with him, but dungeons are no-teleport zones. Sorry . . Well, except the boss room. I could send you there?" she offered.

"Didn't we already fight the boss?" Grace asked. "That big wolf?"

"Waheela? No, she's the _field_ boss. I mean the _floor_ boss, at the end of the dungeon," the girl clarified. "But the doors aren't locked on that Floor. So I could send you to the boss room and then you could leave without fighting it," she suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Pierce nodded. He was still a little bit confused by this strange little girl, but she was nice and helpful, so, like the Unown, he decided to take it in stride.

"Okay!" she nodded, taking a couple of steps back and raising an arm. A sudden wind caused her dress to ripple, and her eyes lit up. Pierce and Grace watched in amazement as a rush of ethernano, far more than they ever expected from the young girl, charged the air, and, with a flash of light, a white portal, six feet in diameter, rippled into being. Another appeared directly beneath Red-Eyed XaXa, which he immediately fell into.

The girl smiled at them as she stepped away. "All yours," she nodded, before looking back at the Unown. "Is there anything else or is that it?"

'T-H-A-T-S-A-L-L'

"Hey, wait!" Grace cautioned, and the little girl paused, looking at her fellow. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Oh? I'm Yui," she introduced herself. "It was nice to meet you, Grace," Yui smiled. "Bye, Unown. Tell Cardinal my daddy's just fine," she finished, and, with a flash of light, vanished.

Pierce's jaw fell open. "She - she just - what?"

"It was nice meeting you too, Yui!" Grace replied, even though she was gone. "Come on, big brother. Let's go see our friends," she suggested, gesturing to the portal.

Pierce gulped. Everything that he had seen since entering the Black Iron Palace was so ridiculously far over his head that he was at the point of just smiling and nodding. "Yeah. Okay," he accepted, and let Grace lead him into the portal that Yui had left behind. Chirping excitedly, Aron followed them. _"Let's go!"_ his voice echoed in Pierce's ears.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Hi, Yui!**

 **What? She's my favourite character from SAO. I couldn't not let her have a cameo.**

 **Anyway. Also, Kuradeel blew himself up. I have no idea if the 'double blast' thing would actually work, but it was an in-character thing for him to do, so hey. Peace!**


	11. Running Forever

Chapter 81: Running Forever

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _"We are the Vanish Brothers! Observe our Destruction of Heaven and Earth technique!" the two declared, one unsheathing his giant saucepan and the other jumping to perch on the weapon._

 _Unfortunately, his feet never touched the surface, as Hare slammed into him in mid-air and sent him sprawling. "Do you honestly expect me to stand around and wait while you set up your attack?" She snorted as the hairy brother crashed. Having done that, she used both hands to pull the weapon out of her bald opponent's clutches, before, in a blur, she brought it down on his head and slammed him into the floor. In the corner of her eye, the kimono-clad Speed Wizard noticed the second brother getting back up, and, swinging the pan like a cricket bat, she slammed its surface into him, throwing him into the wall._

 _Hare hefted the oversized kitchen utensil. "I could get used to this," she grinned._

 _-[CoT]-_

"Hare?"

Blearily, the Speed Wizard came to, blinking dust and grit out of her eyes.

"Oh. It's you," she grumbled, registering Sigurd standing over her.

"Yes, Princess, it's me, the commander of your mother's army, and one of your closest childhood friends," the blond man in his green armour confirmed.

"Yeah, it's you alright," Hare sighed, sitting up. "Only you can bullshit like that,"

Sigurd' smile slipped. "I'm going to take that as being a product of you still being under the influence of the drug,"

"What drug?" Hare questioned. "The last thing I remember is drinking that potion Kuradeel gave us, and then everything's all fuzzy . . that rat poisoned me, didn't he?" she growled.

"Yes," Sigurd nodded. "Luckily, I've been inoculated against poisons, so it had less of an effect on me. And your friend Sarph was clever enough not to drink it. Between the two of us, we fought them off, but got separated in the process," he shook his head, looking grave. Of course, the first statement was a lie - it was impossible to inoculate yourself against Aincrad poisons. Kuradeel had simply given Sigurd a weakened dosage. Of course, Hare had never learnt such things.

"I see," Hare frowned. "And let me guess. You insisted on carrying me because I'm your _princess_ ," she spat the word disdainfully.

"Exactly," Sigurd confirmed with a winning smile.

"Well, I certainly don't need you to carry me now," the Speed witch declared, standing up straight and huffily turning away from Sigurd.

"Of course not. I wouldn't dream of it," the commander nodded courteously. "Now, we ought to try to reunite with your friends,"

Hare grumbled, not wanting to admit that he was right, and, looking around, saw that they were in a room with walls of ice, like the rest of the 28th Floor Dungeon, and only one door. "Well, only one way to do that," she declared, making a dash for the door and shoving it open.

An «Ice Golem» promptly bellowed in her face - until a giant saucepan smashed into its jaw, sending it flying backwards. "Not in the mood!" Hare barked, the saucepan vanishing in a flash of Requip magic as she Sped forwards and delivered a flurry of kicks and punches that shattered the mob to pieces in seconds.

"I see you've improved," Sigurd noted, pretending to be impressed.

"Yeah. The shit I've seen ain't nothing to your crappy army," Hare snorted, continuing to run down the corridor until she reached a junction.

But before she could pass through the archway, words echoed from around the corner. "Matto wilnachikke plemzuru jan!" A projectile of shadowy magic landed before her and erupted into a smokescreen, the force of which sent Hare stumbling backwards.

Sigurd drew to a halt. "That's not normal,"

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed the illusion magic incantation," Hare rolled her eyes.

Footsteps echoed for a few moments. Hare and Sigurd alike tensed.

And Prince of Hell emerged from the barrier of shadows, folding his arms. "Hello, love," he leered wickedly at Hare.

-[CoT]-

Pierce and Grace landed with a slight stumble.

Looking around, they were now standing in a large, circular room. A circular platform dominated the centre, with a trench between the edge of the platform and the wall, with two bridges, each leading to a massive door set into the wall. The one closer to them was open, and the other was closed. Stepping to the side of the bridge where they had appeared, Pierce peered into the abyss. He could not see the bottom.

"Ar!" A chirping noise alerted him to the fact that the little white creature with its metal skin - a Pokemon, apparently - was still following at his heels like a puppy. The unfamiliar voice intruded on his thoughts again; _"It's so deep,"_

"I guess I can't get rid of you that easy, huh?" Pierce chuckled, stepping back from the edge and affectionately patting Aron's head.

"Hey, didn't Yui say something about there being another boss monster in here?" Grace wondered, looking around nervously.

"Yeah, but she also said that we could just leave through the doors and not have to fight it," Pierce assured her, gesturing to the open doors behind them.

But as Grace wandered around nervously, her foot crossed a curved line that marked the end of the bridge and the rim of the boss encounter platform.

Suddenly, prismatic light shone in a crystalline rainbow from a massive chunk of ice in the centre of the room. There was a thunderous crashing noise as slots opened in the walls, and an endless torrent of some strange, milky liquid began gushing out of each, as though attempting to fill in the bottomless pit like a moat. The two Phoenixes watched in horrified amazement as another hatch opened in the roof, depositing a man-sized drop of the same liquid in the centre of the dungeon.

The liquid didn't disperse, though, instead congealing and taking form, until it had formed a headless, humanoid figure, with a large, snarling mouth in the centre of its body. A name flickered into view above it, and Pierce and Grace both frowned as «Symbiont, The Preserved Parasite» snarled at them. In Pierce's head, a hissing, reptilian voice snarled; _"Come and face me, human scum!"_

"It doesn't look so tough," Grace observed, eyeing the monster warily - and then, like lightning, it lanced forwards, baring large claws at the Dragon Slayer. The same voice screamed, in the Tamer's head; _"DIIIIIIIIIEEEE!"_

"Reality Dragon's Spatial Wing!" the greenette panicked, and in an instant, the boss vanished into the folds of bent reality.

"Um . . where did you send it?" Pierce blinked, somewhat concerned, and Grace shrugged. "I dunno,"

"Well, let's go before it comes back," Pierce declared, and, with Grace eagerly nodding and Aaron trotting at his heels, the two dashed across the bridge and out of the doors that led back into the dungeon proper.

-[CoT]-

Sigurd stepped protectively in front of Hare. "Don't worry, milady. I'll handle this," he declared, drawing his sword.

Prince smirked and raised his arm. "Yappa futto famudrokke navgojiko nushlavu vethleka jan!" As he began to cast, Sigurd tensed and leapt forwards, but Prince leapt sideways and aimed along the wall as he finished his incantation, and a charged blast of magic curved along the wall, went straight around Sigurd, and struck Hare in the side, sending her toppling to the ground. Hare gritted her teeth, feeling the twin effects of Silence and Paralysis bind her body.

Sigurd pursed his lips. "Homing attack. Low blow, ganker,"

"Should that mean something?" Prince queried, sounding genuinely confused. He shrugged, hefting his cleaver. "I suppose that blows must decide, then,"

Hare frowned. Why wouldn't the Coffin master try to use a spell against Sigurd? And - wait, come to think of it, why hadn't Sigurd interrupted Prince's Spell? He was skilled enough at Wind magic to cast an Interrupt or Silence effect. Something wasn't right here.

"Fu jan!" Sigurd shouted, launching a weak blast of Wind magic at Prince, before dashing forward with his sword raised. As he did, he clapped his free hand to his chest and added, "Futto zabukke plorthul shaja min!" Green flashes of light spread over his body, and his speed noticeably increased.

Hare silently scoffed. That Wind speed boost was nothing compared to her proper Speed magic.

Prince threw up a sword, and Sigurd clashed against it. The two powered against each other, before the Coffin leapt backwards, kicking off the walk and bringing his cleaver around in a sideways sweep. Sigurd leant backwards to dodge, but the assassin span on his heel and delivered a staggering kick to him that sent him stumbling backwards.

With Sigurd momentarily incapacitated, Prince leapt towards Hare with his knife raised. "Time for you to meet your maker!" he declared, bringing the knife streaking towards her throat. Hare's eyes widened. She was still Paralysed, and -

"Futto famudrokke zhukaru jan!" Sigurd shouted and launched a spinning blade of pure air. The sharp weapon cut into Prince's hip, knocking him away and carving a bloody gash into his side as he stumbled over Hare's prone form and collapsed a few feet away.

"Don't worry, Princess. You're safe with me," Sigurd declared, scooping up Hare's lithe form with both hands, careful not to let the sword he still clutched hurt her. Meanwhile, Prince spluttered, and his body began to dissolve into shadows. "I should have figured," Sigurd grumbled, looking at the dissipating body. "An «Animated Decoy». He was never here, it was just a duplicate. The real PoH is probably still hiding in some hole,"

Hare nodded, but Sigurd wasn't finished. "But that doesn't matter now. What's important is, you're safe here with me,"

 _And the Princess stared up at him with a dreamy expression in her eyes, and gushed, "Oh, Sigurd, I'm always safe with you. Will you let me stay with you forever?"_

Meanwhile, outside of his little fantasy, Hare was glaring at him. "Yeah, that's great and all, but you can put me down now,"

Sigurd blinked, dumbstruck. "But - ah - why?"

"Look, I dunno what you think is happening, here, but . . it's not," Hare shot him down. She started to struggle, and Sigurd had no choice but to set her feet back on the ground. "But . . I saved you,"

"Yeah, and that's great. But I'm not some penny dreadful damsel in distress, and I'm not gonna fall in love with you just because you saved me from . . PoH," Hare paused before saying the last word, looking at the space where the duplicate had been.

"I . . see," the commander of the Sylph army nodded, but Hare wasn't done. "You called him PoH," she noticed, frowning up at the man.

"Yes. Is that important?" Sigurd asked.

"Only his friends and allies call him PoH. To everyone else, it's Prince," Hare recalled, looking up at Sigurd questioningly. "So why do you have that privilege?"

"I - um, ah . ."

And then she was certain. "You're working with him," Hare whispered in horrified realisation. "This was your plan, wasn't it? To put me in mortal danger, with you poised perfectly to save me, so that I would fall in love with you? Like some cliched romance novel?"

"Princess, you're being ridiculous," Sigurd tried to dissuade her, all the while thinking; _'Shit, she's onto us!'_

"No. No, it all makes sense. Ever since I returned to Alfheim, I've been constantly targeted by these Coffin people. First it was back at the castle, when they tried to kidnap me. I bet you were lying in wait, and if Eve hadn't swooped in, you would have been right there. And back at the tavern on the First Floor, when XaXa cockblocked Pierce and Tyria. I bet your stooges thought I would insist on having the spare room to myself because of royal privilege or some such nonsense. And - and you were there! Running down the street to rescue me, because you just 'came to check on us'. I thought that was a bit fishy," she growled. "You've been in on all this this whole time!"

Sigurd paused, and he frowned. ". . Fine. So you figured me out,"

Hare grimaced. "Shit," she muttered. She had been hoping she was wrong.

"But it doesn't matter," Sigurd declared, gripping his sword once again. "You know, it's funny. When you left, all those years ago, you threw a real spanner into my works," he offered. "I had it all figured out. I would be your hero, your idol, you loyal protector, who you cherished above all else. When you were old enough, I would manipulate you into proposing. And then, well, sooner or later you and Lady Sakuya would have had an _accident_. Probably together, less suspicious that way. And then? Well, I would be next in line for the Swilvane throne, wouldn't I?"

Hare glared at him. "I always hated you," she hissed, and Sigurd theatrically sighed. "Yes. That was rather the _problem_ , wasn't it?" he growled, clenching his fist. "You were an absolute brat!" he spat. "You never could just go with it, could you? You always had to be a pest. Running away over and over again, neglecting your duties, forcing me to waste all my time chasing after you - I was burdened with the worst goddamn princess in all of history!" he raged, glaring vehemently at the Sylph princess.

"Well, _sorry_ ," Hare sarcastically retorted.

Sigurd groaned. "Well, your mother liked me, even if you didn't. She arranged our marriage. I suppose she felt she'd trust me with the throne more that she trusted her rebellious disappointment of a daughter," A smile tugged at his lips as Hare's fists clenched, but he continued. "And then you ran away. Went the whole hog this time, too. Stowing away on a ship bound for the other side of the world. I suppose being married to me was just that horrible a prospect, huh," he moaned. "Honestly, I'm still not sure how to feel about the fact that you did that. On the one hand, it meant marrying you was off the table, especially since no one knew where to find you. But on the other, it meant that I was finally rid of you!"

"I assure you, it was the best day of my life too," the Phoenix retorted.

"Of course, it meant I had to change the plan," Sigurd pointed out.

Hare blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Is that when you signed on with Laughing Coffin?"

"Oh, I never joined them. We just made an . . arrangement," the commander clarified. "I helped them get an agent into the Sylph infrastructure so that they could influence things from within, get intelligence and marks, you know? And they help me take out Sakuya when the time is right,"

"But then I came home," the Sylph interjected.

"But then you came home," Sigurd parroted. "And I knew how royally - pardon the pun," he chuckled. "you might mess things up. But then I wondered if you might have matured in your absence, if, just maybe, Plan A was back on the table,"

At this, Hare smiled. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," she simpered.

"But I can still make this work. That was the past. Now listen to the future," the blond man continued the story. "You and your reckless, irresponsible friends launched a suicidal assault on Laughing Coffin, and they killed all of you -"

"My friends aren't dead!" Hare interrupted.

"Oh really?" Sigurd snorted. "That red head is trapped in the bowels of the dungeon, and Johnny Black is on his tail. Your other two friends, the siblings, chased XaXa into the Black Iron Palace, and that place is a death trap even without an assassin on your heels. And it's only a matter of time until the rest of your allies are taken down by the other thirty members of Laughing Coffin. But, I digress," he shrugged. "In spite of my best efforts, Laughing Coffin killed you and your friends. Lady Sakuya will be outraged. She'll be on the warpath. We'll spin it to make her look like she's no longer fit to lead the nation. The public will turn against her, with me at the head. Before long, she'll be exiled or dead, either one works, and I'll be in charge. Just like I should be," he grinned, baring his teeth. "From there, it's one down, eight to go,"

Hare stiffened, hearing this. "Eight?" she parroted.

"For as long as anyone can remember, Alfheim has been divided into nine kingdoms. Sylphs, Salamanders, Cait Sith, Undines . . well, you know the rest. But I think it's about time that the entire continent be united under one symbol,"

Hare raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Are you joking? You want to invade and assimilate every kingdom in Alfheim? What next? Vestal? The Grand Line?"

"No, not the Grand Line. The World Government and the Celestial Dragons are too powerful for me to threaten them with just Alfheim. I think I'll target Vestroia. Vestal already almost conquered it once, and anything those grubby little beggars can do, I can do better,"

Hare tensed, moving her foot backwards. "Yeah, well, you have one problem with all your big plots,"

"And what's that?" the man questioned.

"You have to catch me first!" And Hare was off like a shot, dashing past him and away into the dungeon.

Sigurd watched her go and scoffed. "What I used before was a third-magnitude Haste buff!" he called after her. "Would you like to see how fast a _tenth_ -magnitude Haste makes me?" Forestalling a response, he clapped a hand to his chest and chanted, "Futto thimawu vethukke plorthul shaja min!"

A moment later, Hare looked behind herself - and gasped.

Sigurd was running at full tilt. But, somehow, impossibly, he was actually _catching up_ with her. "What the hell? That's not possible!" she exclaimed, before pouring on the speed. Nothing was faster than her. Nothing could ever catch up to her.

"That's right, princess! Keep running away! But you can't run forever!" Sigurd mockingly called after her, his limbs moving faster than the laws of physics would normally allow as he inched closer to her.

They dashed through corridors and rooms, skipping around monsters who, by the time they realised there was someone to attack, they were already out of sight.

"I have to go faster . . have to be even . . faster!" Hare muttered.

And suddenly she had passed through a set of doors, and was in a large, semispherical room with walls of smooth ice that cast iridescent light throughout the entire area. She didn't stop until she was at the far end of the room from the only set of doors, and she drew to a halt just before Sigurd burst through the doors.

The two stared at each other for a moment, before Sigurd cracked a smile. "Well. This is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into," he declared and stepped backwards, back over the threshold of the door.

And then the ground rippled, and a translucent, phantasmal form emerged, a twelve-foot-tall woman whose torso ended in wispy smoke, with white hair and red eyes. «Greater Yuki-Onna Tsurara» stared down at her with a menacing gaze.

"This is not the time! Can't you see I'm busy here?!" Hare roared at the mini-boss. Tsurara regarded her inquisitively, before turning and looking at Sigurd. As she saw the blond man, something in her gaze hardened, and she looked back at Hare, before nodding slightly, and then sunk back into the floor.

Sigurd blinked. ". . What just happened?" he questioned.

"I don't think the mobs around here like Laughing Coffin and their allies any more than I do," Hare smirked. She had no idea if that was actually the case, but she didn't have any better explanation as to why the monster had decided not to attack them. It was almost as though Aincrad itself wanted her to defeat Sigurd.

"It doesn't matter!" the commander shouted. "You're trapped. You're boxed in. You're dead," he declared, an echoing note of false authority in his voice.

"And you do not get to decide those things!" the princess declared, tending her hands, and, with a flash of Requip magic, her giant saucepan was in her hands.

Sigurd stared at the absurd weapon. "Are you joking?" he questioned, shaking his head. "You could have had any weapon in the Sylph armoury, and you choose _that_?"

"Yeah, I do," Hare nodded. "You wanna know why?"

"Enlighten me," the commander suggested.

And suddenly, Hare was dashing forwards, bringing the weapon back in a swing to knock the man into next week. "Because no one gave it to me! I took this with my own two hands!" she roared, smashing the frying pan into Sigurd's side. The man cried out as he was sent sprawling sideways and narrowly avoided falling over.

He turned and glared, before slapping his left hand to his chest again, and repeating his earlier Spell; "Futto thimawu vethukke plorthul shaja min!"

Hare had just enough time to curse before Sigurd piledrove into her. Sliding sideways, she skipped backwards, attempting to put distance between Sigurd and herself, but the Haste-enhanced man was too fast, and she barely managed to throw her frying pan up to prevent a sword from bisecting her from head to toe. Sigurd gritted his teeth, and, like lightning, bashed his sword against her weapon's handle repeatedly. Hare's leg flashed out and kicked him in the crotch while he was focused on breaking through her defence, and she took advantage of this distraction to speed away again.

"That's right, Princess. Run," Sigurd glared at her, before raising a hand. "Futto famudrog vethleka jan!" he shouted, launching a homing green blast of Wind magic at Hare. Smiling, he stood.

Hare carefully dodged the attack. "Nice try with the homing attack," she dodged again as it wheeled around and continued to target her. "But I'm too fast,"

"Maybe, but eventually you'll tire. And that spell will just keep coming . . and so will these," Sigurd smirked, before focusing again. "Futto wilnachik vethleka jan!" "Futto nyafe jesut vethleka jan!" "Futto slalo kweld vethleka jan!" With each incantation, a slightly larger projectile was launched, making four homing projectiles for Hare to dodge around.

The princess frowned to herself. The first spell Sigurd cast had been a sixth-magnitude spell, and the other three had been seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively. Her frying pan vanished with a flash of Requip, and she sped to the other side of the room. The four projectiles quickly lined up in their pursuit of her.

Going around the circumference of the room, still skirting Sigurd, Hare passed them, and the four attacks reoriented themselves to continue following her. She frowned. They were homing attacks, made to follow her indefinitely . . but they were still just blasts of magic that would detonate upon impact with anything, not exclusively herself . . she smiled.

A single moment before they would have impacted, she dashed around the diameter of the circular room again, this time moving towards Sigurd.

The blond grinned. "Coming for a swift death?" he declared, and, obligingly, drew his sword, prepared to sweep through her as soon as she passed.

Hare gritted her teeth. Her timing had to be perfect.

She was metres away. Feet.

Sigurd slashed, and the blade hissed as it whooshed through the air.

And Hare's legs slid out from under her as she let herself fall to her rear, her momentum and the icy floor carrying her clear underneath the horizontal slash and straight past the other Sylph.

As she did, Sigurd wheeled and followed her. "Tricky, but -" He paused, and turned in horror.

Just in time for four incrementally more powerful projectiles to hit him in the chest. The staggered blasts knocked him off his feet, and Sigurd choked, collapsing backwards.

Hare recovered and grinned. "Eat that!" she barked at him.

Groaning, Sigurd attempted to pick himself up, but his princess was there, slamming her giant saucepan into him before he could recover. "You really think that I'm just gonna stand around while an asshole like you recovers and attacks me again?"

Sigurd's only response was a rapid-fire incantation; "Futto wilnachikke wemzul shaja min!" Suddenly, there was a flash of green light, and Hare was thrown away, spiralling across the room.

She watched as Sigurd recovered, the «Offensive Shield» effect protecting him. "Damn. Never was good at Majutsugo," she muttered after fruitlessly racking her brains in an effort to remember how long a seventh-magnitude «Offensive Shield» lasted. Hare noted with some satisfaction that he was looking tired; he was panting and not standing to his full height like he usually would. Additionally, she was certain that, under his armour, he was sporting some nasty bruises.

Of course, Hare was running out of steam herself, even though she'd avoided taking any major hits thus far.

"It's time to finish this!" Sigurd declared, and chanted, for a third time, "Futto thimawu vethukke plorthul shaja min!"

Hare gritted her teeth as, like lightning, Sigurd flashed towards her and delivered a crippling punch that sent her flying backwards as though launched out of a cannon, her saucepan vanishing into Requip magic. "Who's fast now?" he taunted her as Hare kicked off the wall and made a mad dash for the exit - but Sigurd was too fast, moving to block the door with his body and raise his sword. In seconds, Hare was wheeling away, not wanting to get too close to the man who was faster than her.

"Run all you like, but you can't escape me!" Sigurd taunted her, before dashing forwards, and Hare narrowly dodged. She made another break for the exit, but again, Sigurd was too fast, intercepting her and shoving her sideways before blocking the only door again.

And then he was charging directly towards her, and Hare frantically back-pedalled, before turning on her heel in less than a second and running back towards the opposite wall. Sigurd moved to intercept her, and the Phoenix rushed along the circumference of the wall. "Faster," she muttered, making for the door - but then a flying sword, Sigurd's sword, impaled itself where she would have been in less than a second. Wheeling, Hare span and dashed back the way she had came, noting with slight satisfaction that Sigurd was taking the time to retrieve his sword before going after her again. "I have to go even faster!" she told herself, spurring herself onwards, needing to reach the door before Sigurd could focus his attention on her again.

But the other man was faster still, freeing his sword and passing the door, swinging it towards her as she approached him. Hare's eyes widened, knowing she was moving too fast to stop.

She closed her eyes, knowing this was the end, no longer focusing on where her feet fell, and took one final breath.

There was a hiss as the sword cut through the air.

It was only when Sigurd cried out in shock and defiance that Hare dared to open her eyes - and what she saw almost made her pause, if not for the no doubt fatal fallout from such an action.

She was running, her Speed magic leaving a trail of energy in her wake, and her footfalls echoed through the room each time they hit the wall.

"That's not possible," Sigurd breathed as Hare rapidly reoriented herself.

And then she pelted onto the ceiling, unbothered by the rush to her head of being upside-down, and Requipped her saucepan.

Sigurd was knocked backwards by the attack from above as Hare passed back from the ceiling to the wall behind him and struck him on her way past, before kicking off first the wall and the floor, and striking him in the back. Sigurd fell forwards, and Hare ran straight over his back, crossing the room in a flash and leaping onto the wall again, where she curved and ran along the circumference of the room's wall.

"How are you doing that?" Sigurd gasped, watching her in amazement, and Hare locked eyes with him as she approached once again. "I guess I'm just that _fast_!" she declared, leaping off the wall as her saucepan materialised one last time between her hands, this time reversed, with the handle above her head.

The handle hit Sigurd with the entire force of Hare's velocity like a bullet, the sheer force smashing into his ribs like a jackhammer, and Hare felt a satisfying crunch as at least two of his ribs broke. The sheer force threw him against the back wall with a satisfying thunk.

Hare landed in a crouch, the saucepan finally disappearing. "You think you're worthy to be my husband? To be King of the Sylphs?" she spat, striding over and placing a foot on his broken ribs. Sigurd moaned in pain and despair. "You're not even worthy enough to shine my shoes," Hare spat. "Oh? And good luck getting out of the dungeon in your sorry state," she declared, before snatching his sword and cleaning out his pockets.

She raised a curious eyebrow, seeing the half a dozen magical crystals that her looting had uncovered. "Well, these might be useful," she shrugged, before her eyes fell on a piece of paper. "Is this . ." Unfolding it, her eyes widened. It was a map of the Twenty-Eighth Floor Dungeon - which clearly marked the location of Laughing Coffin's hideout. Hare grinned, stuffing it in her pocket along with the rare magical crystals, before regarding his sword.

A few blows from the saucepan later, it shattered into pieces. Hare took one last look at Sigurd and declared, "Maybe if you're lucky, some of your buddies in Laughing Coffin will come rescue you. Or they'll kill you. Either way, don't ever show your ugly face in Swilvane again," she commanded, before turning and walking out of the room.

"Y-yes." Sigurd whispered, before a cruel smile crossed his bruised face. _"Princess,"_

-[CoT]-

In Laughing Coffin's base of operations, on the second-last floor of the 28th Floor Dungeon, Prince looked up, and sighed. "Oh. So, Sigurd has fallen too, has he?" he grumbled, before picking himself up. "Well, I guess it's my turn to entertain the crowd," he declared, pulling his hood over his head, and smiling. "It's showtime,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Whew! It took eighty chapters, but we finally have some character development for Hare! And the next instalment of that will be Chapter 85, so . . wow. Poor Hare. Wait, this is what she wanted . . Boo Hare.**

 **One more reminder; there is going to be a Q/A session in Chapter 100! I want questions! Lots and lots of questions!**


	12. The Prince of Hell

Chapter 82: The Prince of Hell

 _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._

 _"Okay," Kit nodded, turning and, with a mighty leap, jumped into Pierce's chest._

 _Pierce clenched his teeth, feeling the yokai's energy flowing through him. His blonde hair, which usually fell around his face like a frame that was missing the bottom part, was blown backwards and lengthened, forming a massive bushy mane that instantly turned white. Muscles rippled and bulged, forcing his clothes to their limits and damaging his shoes beyond repair, and vulpine ears protruded from his hair. Two red markings, shaped like bolts of electricity, appeared on his face, each matching the other and running from his eyes to his chin. The hair on his body bristled and grew, turning into a thin coating of fur that continued underneath his clothing. His teeth sharpened into points, and finger- and toenails into claws, as his mane lengthened, pulled tight where it reached his waist before billowing out again and turning red at the end. The effect this created was that of a bushy tail much like Kit's own. Pierce roared, as his eyes changed into vertical slits and turned yellow, to resemble his friend's._

 _"It's called Yokai Unison," Kit explained._

 _-[CoT]-_

"Hello? Anyone?" Pierce shouted as he and Grace searched the top floor of the dungeon for any of their friends - or the Knights of the Blood Oath, for that matter. Surely, if they encountered the Knights, they would be able to direct them to the other Phoenixes.

Grace peered through folds in reality, searching every room, every corridor, that she found. "I see Sarph!" she suddenly shouted, and Pierce looked at his headless sister.

On the next level down, Sarph, with Tyria and Fleur ahead of him, paused in surprise and turned to see Grace's disembodied head behind them. "There you are," he grinned, unbothered by her appearance.

One burst of spatial magic later, Pierce and Grace, with Aron still trailing at their heels, had reunited with the other three.

Tyria immediately pulled Pierce into a hug. "I'm glad you're alright," she grinned at him, electric blue eyes meeting hazel, and the Beast Tamer grinned back. "You too," he assured her.

Grace quietly squeed, and Fleur smiled.

"Possibly not the time?" Sarph questioned, and the two broke away, nodding. "Yeah, you're right," they both said, before looking at each other and chuckling.

"What's that?" Sarph asked, gesturing at Aron, who growled at him. "He's cute," Tyria offered.

"That's Aron!" Grace piped up, and Pierce nodded. "We found him, um, on a lower level of the dungeon. He's not hostile, and he's been following us around,"

Fleur coughed and shot Pierce a questioning look. "Are you going to tame him?" Tyria asked, and the Beast Tamer nodded. "I suppose I should," he agreed, before focusing on Aron. "You want to come with me, right?" he checked, and the little Steel beast nodded empathetically. "Ron!"

"Alright!" Pierce grinned, raising his flute, and cast around for a second before starting to play, a slow tune with a lot of deep notes. Everyone watched, intrigued, as a portal materialised. "That's a strange colour," Grace observed, and Pierce nodded. The upper half of the circular Tamer portal was coloured a rich red, while the lower part was eggshell white, with a small hole in the centre between the two halves. Even more curiously, the two halves of the portal seemed to lean in, opening like a mouth, as Aron was sucked in. There was a flash of golden light, and a star briefly appeared on the end of the flute.

"Yes! I just Tamed an Aron!" Pierce grinned, holding up his flute, and Grace cheered in the background.

"Seriously, though. We need to find Artorias and Hare, and Sigurd and Kuradeel and the Knights of the Blood Oath too," the wizard stated, before pausing at the sour look that appeared on the others' faces.

"There were no Knights," Sarph shook his head.

"It was all Laughing Coffin. They pretended to be from the Knights of the Blood Oath, and were setting us up for an ambush," Tyria added.

"I should have realised," the golden knight grumbled, irritated that they had deceived him.

"Oh," Pierce frowned, digesting this.

"Oh the plus side, we beat up Red-Eyed XaXa," Grace offered, and everyone grinned at this.

"It gets better. Grace used Dragon Force," Pierce boasted, and Sarph's eyes widened. "Really? That's amazing. I wish I could have seen it," he murmured.

"I'm sure you will, sooner or later," the young Dragon Slayer assured him, and Sarph nodded. "Alright. But we should be moving,"

"There you lot are!" a familiar voice shouted, and they all turned to see Hare - _running sideways_ along the wall. "That's new," Sarph observed, and Hare parkour-jumped back onto the floor, skidding to a halt before them. "What, the running on walls thing? Yeah, I learned a new trick. Was pretty useful in avoiding the monsters," she flippantly shrugged.

"Where's Sigurd?" the Electrian asked.

The Sylph rolled her eyes. "Who gives a shit? Turns out the asshole was colluding with Laughing Coffin all along," she snorted.

"Seriously?" Sarph blinked, before pausing. "Actually, that makes sense,"

"I know, right?" Hare nodded, before realising that she was sounding a little too chummy with the other Phoenixes. "I mean; whatever,"

"You seem to be in suspiciously good spirits," Pierce pointed out, and Hare regarded him thoughtfully, before taking in the other Phoenixes. "I guess . . I've just done some thinking about what's important to me," she reluctantly admitted.

"Well, be all this as it may, the mission hasn't changed. We still need to find Laughing Coffin's hideout," Pierce took charge, and Hare smirked. "Actually; it just so happens that a certain backstabbing asshole had a _map_ to the hideout this whole time," she grinned, holding up the stolen map.

"Really?" Pierce looked at her in amazement. "That's awesome! Now we just need to find Artorias,"

"No we don't. He's down in the lower levels of the dungeon, fighting his way through hordes of monsters. I already met him and gave him directions," the Speed wizard shrugged.

". . . You're on top of everything, aren't you?" Sarph mused in amazement.

"I guess I've free-loaded for long enough," Hare shrugged. "Follow me. I'll get us there," she assured the group, before taking off - thankfully, at a pace the others could maintain.

-[CoT]-

Soon, the group burst into a large chamber. Looking around, the Phoenixes immediately recognised that this had to be Laughing Coffin's chamber; bedstuffs and personal belongings - mostly weapons - were strewn around, as well as several piles of loot.

Grace whimpered, having had the misfortune of looking up. "Um, guys?" she murmured, and everyone followed her gaze.

Bones. A massive assortment of human bones in various states of decay had been stuck to the ceiling, spelling out a clear message; 'MEET ME IN THE BOSS ROOM'.

"That is disgusting," Sarph observed.

"The boss room . . that place where we were before?" Grace frowned thoughtfully.

Hare clenched her fists. "Which direction?"

"No," Pierce shot her down. "We've been split up enough today. We need to stick together," Fleur nodded, completely agreeing.

"Well, alright," Sarph gestured to the door. "Team leader?"

"I told you not to call me that," Pierce grumbled, but took point anyway, and the other five Phoenixes followed him as he led them back out of the room.

Fleur paused, looking back at the room, and frowned, unsheathing her rapier.

-[CoT]-

A little while later, Artorias, his wolf in tow, staggered into the hideout. The poison was clearly taking its toll on him. "Antidote, antidote," he muttered, feverishly scouring the room for what looked like a cure.

A bark attracted his attention to where the wolf was nosing at a shelf. Staggering over to it, Artorias found him pawing at a small pile of yellow crystals. They were marked with a sign; 'ANTIDOTE CRYSTALS - BREAK AGAINST SKIN TO USE'.

Artorias shrugged, deciding it made as much sense as anything else in this castle. "Alright," he agreed, taking a Crystal, pulling open his shirt and pressing it against his chests where it shattered, dispersing yellow energy into his body. The effects were immediate; the crushing weight in his chest began to lighten. Sighing in relief, Artorias sat down in a nearby chair. A short rest couldn't hurt . . .

-[CoT]-

Prince waited, standing in the centre of the boss room that was normally home to «Symbiont, The Preserved Parasite». "Oh, good, you're here," he offered.

The door, though, remained closed. There was no sign of the Phoenixes.

"No, not them," Prince shook his head, looking impatient. " _You_ ," he stressed the word, staring directly forwards. "It's a shame this is text. Or I'd actually be able to see you,"

He unsheathed his cleaver, «Mate Chopper», and started to polish it. "That's right. I know that you're watching. I know what you're thinking," He paused. "Well, actually, I don't 'know' what you're thinking. I'm supersane, not _psychic_ ," Prince snorted.

"But here's the important part. I've _seen_ you," the assassin darkly grinned, still polishing his knife. "I've been to the Nexus, I've used the portals. I've felt the eyes, all watching me. Watching everything that happens. I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING!" he suddenly snapped, gritting his teeth. "And you all think you're so high and mighty. You think it's all just a story, just some little thing to waste your time by reading," he growled.

"But I? I can see," Prince snapped his fingers. "Ever since _that man_ taught me, showed me, and I have known. And I know it doesn't matter that I kill people, because they're just characters in this story! Who cares if some nameless, faceless people get snuffed? You don't! Do you?" he challenged, still apparently talking to empty air.

"But I know that you're _mostly_ watching the wizards of Phoenix's Eye. Because they're the main characters. The ones who are trapped in my dungeon, and who will be here any minute. They're the important ones. I'm just some insane murderer who's the villain of this particular story arc, who you all love to hate. I know that. And it doesn't bother me," Prince shrugged, tucking his knife away.

"But wouldn't you all rather watch _me_?" the assassin suddenly demanded, growing a wide grin and pointing at his leather-clad chest. "Just think! If my plan works, and I take control of the Sylph nation, then I'll be _important_! Italicised and everything! Why would you all want to watch a bunch of nobodies from the other side of the world when you could all be watching me, and my rise to power as I, with the Sylphs at my back, conquer first Alfheim, and then the world? Who cares about the mounting sexual tension between Pierce and Tyria, when I could leave a trail of broken hearts in my wake, each more fascinating and compelling than the last! And Grace, with all her overwhelming power; I have the Nexus! I could go _Super fucking Saiyan_ if I wanted!"

Prince span around, causing his cloak to billow, and beamed. "Just think of the possibilities! Wouldn't you all rather watch _me?!_ "

Suddenly, his expression turned feral and dark. "And all that I have to do, to make sure that I'm the one who gets the attention, is to kill everyone else who might distract you. Then you'll have _no_ _choice_ but to watch me! Wa-hahahahahah!" he maniacally laughed, spinning around and flashing his teeth in all directions.

Suddenly Prince stopped, facing the door. "Well. Hopefully I've given you all plenty to think about. But right now, I have some little birds to kill," He snorted in derision. "Watch very closely," the assassin demanded, and snapped his fingers. "Because it's _showtime_ ,"

As if on cue, the door burst open, and the Phoenixes emerged. Hare and Pierce led the charge. "I have had just about enough of your lot!" the princess barked.

Prince snorted. "Everyone! Watch very closely!" he shouted, looking around eagerly.

Pierce drew up, wary and looking around. "Who's he talking to?"

Sarph stepped forward, prepared to take on the role of tank. "Everyone, careful. He might have allies,"

"Allies? No. Not yet, anyway. But I'm confident I can win them over," the assassin assured them, before looking down. "So Hare will strike first,"

Hare bellowed. "I'm so sick of you!" as her frying pan hurtled towards him, the Speed wizard bringing it down in an accelerating smash.

With goat-like agility, Prince skipped backwards, causing the attack to slam into the ground where he had been standing seconds ago. But the assassin was already rapidly casting a spell with a musical lilt in his voice. "Matto mezakke plemzure lezhame choyo vachoka ralth shippura jan!"

Sarph was charging, trying to interrupt the spell, but it was too late, a ring of shadows erupting around Hare that Prince dove into. "It was like he somehow predicted the attack," the knight mused.

"What's that?" Tyria asked, cautiously advancing.

"It's a «Barrier Hazard»! He's trapped me in the area in the cen - aargh!" The Phoenixes flinched as Hare's scream rang out.

"I can't get a bead on her location," Grace frowned, reality rippling around her hands.

"How are we supposed to get - huh?" Pierce blinked as Fleur charged past him. Green calligraphy flashed down her sword, spelling 'PETAL BLIZZARD'. She sliced, an upwards diagonal strike that send a mass of green petals soaring outwards, streaking straight through the «Barrier Hazard».

A shadow shot upwards, out of the five-metre-tall area, and some kind of string latched Prince to the ceiling, which he hung from like a spider, gazing down.

Meanwhile, Sarph was hot on Fleur's heels, streaking into the hazard and ignoring the subsequent pain. He quickly found himself in a circular space in the centre, one metre in radius in which Hare had collapsed to the floor, a bloody gash in her stomach. Scooping up the Sylph, he immediately carried her out, ignoring the sting of the «Barrier Hazard». "Nice shot, Fleur," he commended the mute witch, who nodded graciously.

"Yes, nice shot indeed," Prince called down, and the Phoenixes looked up at him as Sarph carried Hare back to the door, out of the line of fire. "I can see that I'll have to get serious,"

The Phoenixes tensed. This could be bad.

Prince, though, looked up to the top of the page, tapped the chapter toggle and skipped back to Chapter 78, giving it a cursory glance before returning to Chapter 82. "Oh - what is this I see?" Prince suddenly squinted at the blond, gazing down at him in excitement. "You've visited my Nexus, haven't you?"

Pierce blinked. "What?"

"How did you know that?" Grace asked, and the Beast Tamer quietly slumped. "Don't just admit it like that,"

"The what?" Tyria asked, and Pierce gestured at their enemy. "Tell you later!"

"You felt them, didn't you?" Prince demanded, leering down at them. "The eyes. The watchers. Millions of them, all watching, all observing,"

"Really, what is he talking about?" Sarph questioned.

But Pierce could only nod, thinking back to the sensation he had experienced every time he passed through one of the portals in the Nexus. Of being watched by thousands of eyes.

"They're watching us, you know. Right now. They always are, and they always will be. But they seem to take special pleasure in watching you all," Prince solemnly explained, rappelling down from the ceiling.

"Are you taking this seriously? Hello? He's a wackjob!" Hare shouted as she extricated herself from Sarph's clutches.

"Whoa!" the knight protested. "You are in no shape to fight,"

"She's right, though," Grace nodded, and Pierce looked over at her. "Come on, bro. Don't listen to him. He'll just pull you into the same pit of insanity that he's trapped in. And I'm not letting you become someone like that,"

A smile tugged at the boy's lips. "Alright. Thanks," he grinned, and Grace beamed.

Prince tched. "Fine. It doesn't matter, anyway. Right now, they're all watching us! And who they keep watching will be determined by who wins this fight - so I won't hold back!" he shouted, before glancing down the page again, and snorted. "Little miss bitch boots just won't quit, huh?"

"I have to insist that you stay back," Sarph commanded Hare while Prince was occupied, who scoffed, looking at the gash in her hip. "What, this?" Her hand darted into eye pocket and appeared holding one of the crystals that she had stolen from Sigurd, coloured green. She crushed it against the injury, where it immediately crumbled into powder. Green light surged from the disintegrating Crystal, and washed over the injury, knitting flesh back together, stripping away pain and even repairing the hole in her shirt. "Healing crystal. I got it off Sigurd,"

Fleur blinked, incredulous, and Sarph summed up their thoughts; "Why haven't we been using those since _forever_?"

"They're rare," Hare shrugged. "You can only get them in Alfheim,"

"Matto tsuta jan!" Prince shouted, launching a series of projectiles down from the ceiling. In response, the Phoenixes scattered, Grace diving into a fold in reality. As the greenette vanished, the assassin looked down, before groaning. "'Leaping out of the air'? Could you be more specific?" he complained, looking around.

"Reality Dragon's Pronged Plumage!" the Dragon Slayer shouted, leaping out of the air and headbutting the Coffin, sending him swinging on his line. But Prince batted her away, sending her falling to the ground. "Nice try,"

"We need to cut that rope," Sarph observed, taking wing, but a whistle attracted their attention.

Green words flashed along the flat of Fleur's rapier, spelling; 'PETAL BLADE', and she slashed upwards as silver petals coalesced around her sword, causing it to grow to an impossibly massive size. Stunned, Prince barely managed to duck as the blade of razor-sharp petals scythed above him and cut through the rope, sending him plunging towards the ground.

The assassin landed in a crouch and flipped to his feet, wielding his cleaver menacingly. "Not bad. I can see why they like to watch you," he muttered, and licked his lips. "This kill is going to be fun,"

The assassin paused, noticing that every member of Phoenix's Eye was charging towards him at once. He looked down. "Okay, how about a causal loop . . Alright. I see how this is gonna go now," He raised a hand, before clapping it to his chest. "Matto thimawu vethukke jeshakul shaja buren!"

The Phoenixes drew up short, and Prince laughed madly as shadows coalesced around him. "Watch this!" he demanded. Curved, demonic horns emerged as muscles bulged and convulsed, horns and thick, matted fur encased his form, and a long, lashing tail manifested, ending in a hissing, spitting cobra head. The Phoenixes drew up in horror as the massive boss monster appeared before them, cackling maniacally.

"What is that thing?" Hare spluttered, and Pierce stared in amazement. "I don't know, but I want one," he admitted.

Archive screens flickered around Sarph. "It's a boss monster, from the seventy-fourth floor of Aincrad. It's name is «The Gleam Eyes»," he explained, immediately on guard.

"The 74th floor? But aren't we on the 28th floor right now?" Tyria checked.

"Yeah, well that just means this thing might actually be on our level!" the Beast Tamer grinned, Requipping his flute.

"Hold on, where's Prince gone?" Grace asked, looking around.

"I am Prince, you foolish little whelp!" «The Gleam Eyes» retorted, leering down at him. "And this famous monster has star power! Even more than my own! Everyone will want to watch me if I use this form!"

"It's a «Phantasmal Form» effect," Hare rolled her eyes. "It's a lot like Take Over magic," she clarified, spotting questioning glances from the others.

Bellowing, «The Gleam Eyes» brought its massivr Zanbato sword down towards them, tired of conversation. "Scatter!" Pierce shouted, and the Phoenixes split as Prince's illusionary body attacked.

"Alright! If this guy's gonna fight us as an Alfheimic boss, we need to fight like a raid group! Everyone, together!" Pierce hollered, gathering everyone at the edge of the bridge that led back to the door.

"What's the plan?" Tyria asked, and Pierce grinned. "Sarph, take point. Tank its attacks. Me and Tyria will keep behind you, looking for openings. When we see one, attack," he commanded his girlfriend, who nodded. "Grace, Hare? Get out there and keep it off-balance. Attack from every side, make sure it doesn't know which way to turn. Fleur, hang back. Use your ranged spells, rack up DPS and -"

"Look out!" Grace shouted, and the Phoenixes turned, their eyes widening, as Prince delivered a massive overhead swing towards them. "You think I'll just let you plan?" he demanded incredulously.

Squeezing her eyes shut and calling on every drop of her power, Grace threw her arms up and twisted the space around them. Grey light flared around the offending blade, and, instead of striking the Phoenixes, the upper half of the sword was suddenly buried in the wall to their left, apparently severed from its hilt.

The Phoenixes stared in amazement. "You just redirected his attack," Sarph quietly observed.

"Huh . . that's new," Grace admitted, looking at the disjointed blade in surprise. The only time she'd done something like this was when she'd deflected Jarod Blastreyne's bullets . . hey. This was a whole new area of her spatial abilities.

Retreating, Prince withdrew his weapon from the distorted reality, finding it to actually be perfectly intact, and grumbled. "What a pain in the ass . . . I'd better kill you first,"

Grace childishly stuck her tongue out in response. "First you gotta catch me!" she declared, leaping into a fold in reality. Hare also sped off, and the other four arranged themselves as Pierce had instructed.

«The Gleam Eyes» snorted in amusement. "A pathetic mockery of a raid group. Is that supposed to scare me?" the Coffin rumbled, and looked down again.

"This is!" Hare shouted, leaping towards the monster's back - but the lashing snake head of «The Gleam Eyes»' tail caught her between its jaws, and she only barely managed to evade being eaten. The boss shrugged. It was as he expected.

Prince drew the massive Zanbato Sword back, and as the Phoenixes advanced, they saw the now-familiar flash of a «Sword Skill» activating. "«Berserk Blitz»!" Prince roared, bringing his avatar forwards in a mad dash of strikes that left red lines wherever the blade cut. In response, Sarph quickly cloaked «Tenshi Meiyo» in Archive screens that enlarged and reinforced the blade, before leaping upwards with a blaze of Aera and attempting to parry the weapon.

The two blades met and powered against one another, Sarph's golden eyes locking against «The Gleam Eyes»' blue - before, with a thrust, Prince knocked him backwards, sending him flying up, into the wall above the door, where he crashed.

"TechType: Force Field!" Tyria invoked, frantically shielding herself and Pierce as the boss targeted them again. Fleur made a mad dash for the door behind them, hoping to get out of range. In the corner of his vision, Pierce spotted Grace fruitlessly battering against Prince's legs, to no effect.

Prince cackled. "Three down," he declared, before bringing his sword down towards the trio.

"Bleeding Evisceration!" A red blur shot over them, wielding a long pole that was slick with blood, and drew a cross of blood in mid-air, before sending it flying at the boss, knocking it back. Artorias landed in front of the other Phoenixes, «Sleepless Dream» clutched in his hand. "You made a grave mistake in attacking my friends," he spoke, quiet words that echoed through the room.

Prince quietly cursed. This was what happened when he got careless . .

Price and Tyria grinned, but paused as a «Dire Wolf» darted around them and paused at Artorias' heels, hackles raised and growling at the boss.

Tyria dropped the Force Field, and Pierce hastened to Artorias' side. "Good to see you, buddy," he grinned at the Blood Wizard, who inclined his head in agreement. "But . . what's with the wolf?"

"Wait. Isn't that one of Waheela's adds?" Sarph questioned, joining them.

"Yes. But I fed him some leftover Peryton meat and he fell in love with me," Artorias explained.

"Well, that explains it. Everyone knows that Peryton is a «Dire Wolf's» favourite food," Sarph sighed, reassured, and Pierce nodded in agreement.

Artorias, of course, had not known that, but nodded all the same. "Alright, well I suppose he's our friend now,"

Pierce took another look at the wolf, and winced. "I think you mean _she_ ," he corrected the S-Class, who looked surprised at this revelation.

"Incoming!" Tyria interrupted, and the boys looked up to see a ball of purple energy fast approaching them. The three immediately left in separate directions, the wolf faithfully following Artorias, as the attack impacted where they had been standing.

"You've been a girl this whole time?" Artorias asked the wolf, a faint note of surprise entering his voice - the closest he ever came to shock. The wolf nodded, and he snorted. "You could have mentioned," he muttered, a tad petulantly.

"Hurry up!" Hare shouted, as she and Grace continued to batter at Prince's legs, as the boss cast around and tried to hit the small targets. Pausing, Prince looked down. "Oh dear,"

"Right!" Sarph unleashed a burst of lasers, Tyria started unloading her Machine Gun, and Fleur pelted «The Gleam Eyes» with a 'PETAL BLIZZARD', while Pierce and Artorias leapt in for melee combat. "Grace, boost me!" he commanded. Obligingly, Grace bent space in front of him and Pierce plunged into the distortion, shouting as he did, "Take Over: Bee Soul!"

Amidst the other attacks, Prince shouted in pain as a human-sized bee sting impacted his chest. Releasing the Take Over, Pierce dropped back to the ground and watched the blossoming sting in pride.

"Keep it up!" Sarph declared, encapsulating Prince's arms in Archive screens and trying to restrict his movement. "He can't take much more of this!"

"Enough!" Suddenly, Prince leapt into the air, his massive body held above the Phoenixes, and, as he fell, he put his massive hands together and cast; "Matto wilnachikke navgojiku vethleka chawijan!" A myriad of projectiles of magic issued from his palms and spread around the room, each one homing in on a wizard of Phoenix's Eye. In rapid succession, they all fell to the ground, the «Paralysis» washing over them. Pierce groaned as he collapsed, watching his guildmates follow suit.

"Just as I expected," «The Gleam Eyes» snorted, looking around and taking in the sight of the six Phoenixes slumped around him. "So weak, so unworthy of being watched . . wait, did I just read six?" He quickly counted off, before frowning. "Where's little miss bitch boots?"

"Oi! Poo-face!" Prince whirled in surprise, seeing Hare defiantly standing before him, wielding her frying pan. "Know what this is?" she demanded, holding up a yellow crystal that twinkled in the light.

Prince somehow blanched through the solid illusion. "A «Paralysis Cure Crystal»? Where did you get that?" he demanded.

"For a backstabbing maniac, Sigurd's proven to be quite useful," Hare smirked, before Speeding over to Pierce and smashing the Crystal against his neck. "Get the others up," she growled. "I'll handle this guy,"

"What? No!" Pierce protested, but the lingering Paralysis was still preventing his movement even as the magic crystal's energies countered it. As he struggled to his feet, he could only watch as Hare strode towards Prince.

"Are you serious right now?" «The Gleam Eyes» snorted, weighing its Zanbato sword in its hand. "Your entire group couldn't defeat me, and you want to do it alone?"

"He's right!" Sarph shouted. "You don't have to do it alone!" Tyria agreed, weighing in.

But Hare took no notice, leaping upwards and driving the butt of her weapon into Prince's jaw. "Oi, Pierce! Get ready!" she hollered.

«The Gleam Eyes'» fist lashed out, but Hare was too fast, kicking off and soaring through the air, before hitting the wall. Her feet blurred as she sped around the circumference of the room, kicking off when she was near the door and bouncing off the ceiling. "Atlas Fall!" she shrieked, green light building around the saucepan, which exploded as she slammed it into «The Gleam Eyes'» face. The boss stumbled, growling, as Hare drew breath.

"Pierce!" she hollered, back-pedalling before Prince could recover. _"Switch!_ "

A smile tugged at the boy's face. "Kit?"

With a flash, a spectral white fox appeared. "It's about time! Yokai Unison!" the two hastily invoked.

Light flared around them as Pierce's hair turned white and grew into a massive mane, red markings appearing on his cheeks. Thin white fur coated his body, and vulpine ears emerged from his hair.

And the united Phoenixes flashed forwards, passing Hare in an instant. Prince gasped, not expecting the sudden attack. Futilely, he tried to bring his massive sword forwards to block, but the energy building in Kit's hands was too fast.

"Yokai Wave Blaster!" they declared, throwing a two-handed palm strike into Prince's chest and slamming a concentrated pulse of magic into Prince's chest.

There was a cracking sound, like glass, and gleaming white splinters in the solid illusion spread outwards from the impact point. And then the illusion shattered, breaking down into ethernano and revealing the Prince of Hell, blackened and bruised.

The recovering Phoenixes watched as the man collapsed to the ground, Pierce/Kit and Hare standing over him.

"Thanks for trusting us," Pierce nodded with a smile to Hare. In response, the Speed wizard shrugged. "Well, what's being part of a guild for?"

Quietly, Prince moaned, shaking his head. "I get it now," he sighed. "I never had any chance of winning at all, did I?" He pointed down, glaring at the bold words beneath the end of the chapter. "This is your fault. How dare you give me false hope . . I'll make you pay for this,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Finally! You have no idea how difficult this chapter was to write! Especially since Prince was messing with me the whole way.**

 **Prince: Knock knock.**

 **Oh. No, you are not -**

 **Prince: Joining you in the Author's Note? I have all of one chapter left to star in. After that, it's a whole lot of nothing. Unless . . let me take a look at your backlog.**

 **No! Your plot's over! You do not get to interfere.**

 **Prince: Damn, you're only up to Chapter 96? It'll do. See you then! :P**

 **. . . Great. Well, on the bright side it'll be another fourteen chapters and the entire remainder of Apocrypha before I have to deal with him again. Oh, speaking of; everyone does know about the Apocrypha spin-off, right? It's running parallel to this story? But appears to be getting a lot less attention? Please go and read it. It'll tie back into this story sooner or later.**

 **Also, one more reminder about the next Q/A in Chapter 100! I need questions! Lots and lots of questions! Peace!**


	13. OT6: Heroes (Alesso)

Chapter 83: OT6: Heroes

 _We go hideaway in daylight_

Pierce, Tyria and Grace sit together at a cafe in Swilvane, enjoying brunch.

 _We go undercover when under sun_

Fleur and Sarph pick over some stalls on the other side of the street.

 _Got a secret side in plain sight_

Artorias strokes Sif at the next table over. The «Dire Wolf» relishes the attention.

 _Where the streets are empty_

Sigurd, leading a platoon of men, suddenly marches down the street.

 _That's where we run_

Looking at each other, the Phoenixes all smile.

 _Everyday people do_

Hare looks around wildly, glaring from her balcony at Swilvane beneath her.

 _Everyday things but I_

Her gaze falls on Aincrad, far away, on the horizon.

 _Can't be one of them_

Her frying pan appears in her hands, and she savagely grins.

 _I know you hear me now_

The three leaders of Laughing Coffin stand together, with the rest of their guild behind them.

 _We are a different kind_

The Phoenixes, with Sigurd, gather against them. Pierce and Prince's eyes meet.

 _We can do anything_

Aron and Kit appear at Pierce's feet, and they charge.

 _We could be heroes_

Kuradeel and Sarph's swords meet, Sarph bellowing as Kuradeel maniacally smiles.

 _We could be heroes_

Fleur, as a green blur, breaks through the lines of grunts, before Grace launches a roar through the gap at Red-Eyed XaXa.

 _Me and you_

Artorias blocks a strike from Johnny Black, and Sif leaps over him to knock him to the ground.

 _We could be heroes_

Prince, as «The Gleam Eyes», bellows above it all, but Hare and Pierce, riding Raya, swoop down towards him. Hare has her saucepan ready to strike.

 _We could be heroes_

The members of Phoenix's Eye line up on the edge of Aincrad's outer platform, looking down.

 _Me and you_

The group all simultaneously jump off, becoming silhouettes in the sunlight as they fall, and the camera falls away.

 _We could be_

The camera freezes, looking up at Yggdrasil and Aincrad, with the Phoenix's Eye symbol burned into the tree's wood.


	14. CT6: Crossing Field (Lisa - Eng)

Chapter 84: CT6: Crossing Field (Lisa - Eng. Version)

"Hey, guys?" Boomer spoke into the microphone of the Sonic Boom as the second group drove towards Freelia. "With the money I got from the boss fight, I bought a couple of local CDs. Mind if I fire one up?"

"Go for it. I'd like some music," Donna suggested from the back seat.

"Alright," Boomer grinned, sliding a CD marked 'CROSSING FIELD' into the Sonic Boom and pressing 'play'.

 _Cloudy memories_

Pierce and Kit sit next to Kinana's bed as the purplette opens her eyes.

 _Of the way it used to be_

Kinana sees everything as a dark fog of memory, and the camera follows her perspective.

 _Search for answers_

Erik appears before her, looking hazy, like a dream.

 _I can't see_

Everything goes black in her vision as the camera spins to face her again, and Kinana rubs her eyes.

 _Looking back in time_

Donna stares into a mirror, seeing her old Mordonna persona leering back at her.

 _All the images they tell me_

Eternity stands over her reflection, darkly smiling. His eyes twinkle menacingly.

 _Where I'm going_

But there is a burst of flame and the mirror shatters

 _They guide me_

Donna wheels and sees Master Feng smiling at her. She smiles back.

 _Look to the skies_

The Sempiternal Phoenix falls from the sky and crashes into the forest, glowing with gold light.

 _it's a new day, every day_

Suddenly the island seems to be clutched in the palm of a shadowed, massive Master Eternity, leering down at the sprawled and unconscious members of Phoenix's Eye within.

 _Feeling so confused_

Eve holds up a Caladrius feather, and as it turns black, light flashes and her wings appear.

 _But I know your heart is true_

The clouds form into the shape of the Caladrius' head, smiling down at her.

 _Please trust in me_

The other girls of Phoenix's Eye join her, and Eve grins at her friends.

 _Flying so high up in the sky_

The camera pans away from an extreme close-up of Hare's chest as she soars into the air with a flight harness, green wings spread wide.

 _I'm caught up in a dream_

She soars into the door of the Twenty-Eighth Floor Dungeon, immediately entering a room where Sigurd waits.

 _My fears they fade away_

Every second syllable is punctuated with Hare striking Sigurd with her frying pan.

 _It's my reality_

With a frenzied roar, she knocks him straight into the wall.

 _And now I know the reason why_

Pierce and Grace, accompanied by Aron and Yui and surrounded by Unown, look around the Nexus in confusion.

 _I've got to make a change_

XaXa, in his Machine Caliber, emerges from a portal and chases them off the screen as Yui and the Unown watch.

 _Grow stronger every day_

The three suddenly emerge back into the room where Tyria and Sarph are taking cover from Kuradeel's self-destruct, and Sarph beckons them over.

 _I need you here with me_

Tyria' hand takes Pierce's, and their eyes lock.

 _I'm trapped in the dark_

The Phoenixes up, facing off against Prince as «The Gleam Eyes».

 _but I'll never give in_

They yell and charge forwards, prepared to fight.

 _I gotta break free,_

For a second, Pierce is staring up at a massive stone cube inscribed with runes. He mouths the word; 'pone . . glyph'.

 _Escape this endless nightmare_

The outer wall of Aincrad explodes outwards as Hare leaps forth, launching herself into the air.

 _I won't stop_

The camera swivels and freezes with Hare suspended in midair, the green lights of Swilvane twinkling in the distance.

-[CoT]-

It was the afternoon after Phoenix's Eye had left for Aincrad, and they had not yet arrived. Lady Sakuya was seated at her desk, working through paperwork, when the door swung open.

She looked up, a frown already blossoming on her features. Who would be so rude as to barge straight into her office, without so much as knocking? . . For a second, she thought her daughter had returned earlier than expected.

But when she took in the appearance of her visitor, her countenance changed from annoyance bordering on anger, to tightly controlled fear.

"Good afternoon, Lady Sakuya," the man greeted her, somehow inflecting her title without a drop of respect. He was tall, as much as she was, with short, spiky white hair, and was wearing a white coat with teal lining and gold pauldrons on his shoulders, as well as a flowing white cape cascading down his back. In the absence of an undershirt, his chest was exposed, revealing his muscles, and black trousers were held up by a brown belt. His stern, jaded eyes bored into her heart as he puffed on the pair of thick cigars clenched between his teeth, on the right side of his mouth. Though she couldn't see it, Sakuya knew that on his back, sewn into the cape, would be two symbols that spelled, in kanji, 'JUSTICE'.

"What have I done to attract the attention of the World Government?" Sakuya carefully asked.

The man snorted. "Straight to the point. I respect that," he nodded, making no move to approach her. "Then I won't waste time either. I'm Vice-Admiral Smoker of the Marines, and our sources," _Spies_ , Sakuya thought with distaste, "have informed me that an ancient artefact of Lost Magic has recently appeared in your territory. My men and I have been dispatched to retrieve it on behalf of the World Government,"

Sakuya bristled. That was so characteristic of the so-called World Government. They didn't govern the entire world, of course, but the territories under their control did span the globe. They used their military might to consolidate as much power as they could, all for the sake of ensuring that no one could try to oppose them . . and she was no exception. The Sylph military was already tied up in protecting her people from the Salamanders, their aggressive neighbours. If she tried to oppose the World Government, she knew they wouldn't hesitate to support the Salamanders and help them conquer her kingdom . . or just do it themselves. They certainly had the military might necessary for such a feat. ". . Very well," she acquiesced. "You will have the full cooperation of my people in retrieving this artefact,"

Smoker smiled, puffing on his cigars and paying no heed to the smoke that wafted around Sakuya's office as a result. "I'm glad to hear it," It made him so happy when people made his job easy.

"May I ask what this artefact is, that is of such importance to the World Government?" the Sylph leader asked, doing her best to seem unimpressed without taking it to a level where the Marine Vice-Admiral might take offence and decide to inflict some manner of ghastly retribution.

Smoker shrugged. "Heck if I know. All they told me is that it's incredibly big, it's somewhere in your Ancient Forest, and it's called the Sempiternal Phoenix,"

Sakuya frowned. It sounded vaguely familiar . . but she couldn't place where she had heard it before. "By all means, it's yours," she agreed.

Smoker nodded, and left.

It was only a couple of hours later, when Smoker and his men were no doubt already on their way to claim the relic, that Sakuya realised where she'd heard the name before. The wizards of Phoenix's Eye. When the tale of how they had come to arrive in Alfheim had been relayed to her, she had heard about the time-space travelling device that had stranded them in her territory. That was what the Sempiternal Phoenix was.

A shiver ran down Sakuya's spine. She had just handed the key to travelling anywhere in space and time that the user wished to the most corrupt and politically powerful organisation in the known world.

Oh, _dear_ . .


	15. Kingdom Come

Chapter 85: Kingdom Come

"So, is it over?" Sarph asked as they tied up the Prince of Hell.

"We have to bring them into custody," Artorias pointed out. "I locked Johnny Black in a safe room on the lower levels,"

"Um . . I think we left Red-Eyed XaXa in the Nexus," Grace questioned, but Pierce shook his head. "That Yui girl said she'd take care of him, remember?"

A muffled snort of amusement came from the direction of their captive.

"What's so funny?" Tyria frowned down at Prince. "We beat you and your cronies. Laughing Coffin is done,"

"Heh," Prince chuckled. "Hahahah," he continued to laugh, weakly rolling in his restraints onto his back.

"I don't like this," Pierce frowned. "What aren't you telling us?"

"So, you captured Johnny, did you? Eh, he always was the weakest of the three of us," the Coffin chuckled. "And I'll admit you did a good job against me," he added. "But there's no possible way that you defeated the third founder of Laughing Coffin,"

"Weren't you listening? We beat XaXa. I used Dragon Force!" Grace protested.

But this just sent Prince into another fit of deranged cackles. "You really don't get it, do you? That wasn't Red-Eyed XaXa. I haven't even seen old Shouichi in about twelve years. The man you defeated was Shouichi's younger brother, Kyouji,"

"Shouichi Shinkawa is Red-Eyed XaXa's real name," Hare recalled. "I did hear he had a brother," she agreed, frowning. "But what do you mean, you haven't seen him in twelve years?" she demanded.

"It's simple," Prince gloated, leering at them. "We pulled a good old switcheroo," he crowed. "Kyouji took over the mantle of Red-Eyed XaXa. Just to keep up appearances, you know," he shrugged with an affable nod of his head. "And Shouichi went undercover to lay the seeds for our plot," He cackled again, eyes bulging as though they were attempting to escape their sockets.

"What do you mean, 'lay the seeds'?" Tyria asked, suspicious.

"Where do you think Sigurd got his ambitions from, eh? I mean, come on, you _met_ him. That man doesn't have the imagination needed to stage a coup," Prince scoffed.

"Are you saying," Artorias started, but Hare cut him off. "Red-Eyed XaXa's been undercover in Swilvane? For _twelve years_?"

Prince just continued to laugh.

"Well, it's alright," Pierce stopped the discussion. "If he's been there for twelve years, he'll still be there when we get back,"

"Yeah," Kit weighed in. "We can handle this, no sweat,"

"You still don't get it, do you? This whole mess? You lot showing up and making this reckless assault? It's exactly the opportunity we've been waiting for!" the Guild Master of Laughing Coffin crowed.

"Opportunity for what?" Sarph demanded.

"Why, to kill Lady Sakuya!" Prince snorted, shaking his head in mirth.

 _"What,"_ Hare stiffened and glared at him.

"Well, of course. That's why old Shouichi's been working his way up the ladder for the last twelve years. After all, when Red-Eyed XaXa murders the leader of the Sylph Nation, especially with her daughter and the commander of her army absent, who better to take charge than Lady Sakuya's own chief of staff?"

"Her chief of staff?" Artorias parroted, and a shiver ran down each Phoenix's spine as they realised who, exactly, Red-Eyed XaXa truly was.

"No. No way," Hare shook her head. "You're lying. No fucking way!"

"But . . it makes sense," Sarph nodded as he remembered something. "That night, when you were kidnapped. Laughing Coffin targeted the guild dormitories. How else could they know that you weren't in your royal quarters?"

"But - still!" Hare protested, looking around her friends' faces, before rounding on Prince. A reinforced saucepan handle poked him in the chin. "You're lying! Admit it! You're tricking us!"

"Aww, that's cute. But come on. You know you're wrong," Prince snorted. "But it doesn't matter anyway," he shrugged. "You'll know the truth soon enough. After all, the clock's ticking. It's only a matter of time until he opens that door to her office for the last time," And, suddenly, his dark eyes were locked on Hare's. "And there's nothing you can do about it,"

Hare gritted her teeth, growling like an animal. "Like hell there isn't!" she spat.

And, in a flash, she was gone. The doors at the other end of the boss room - the ones that led up to the town on the 29th Floor of Aincrad - were thrown open as a green blur passed between them.

The Phoenixes looked around in confusion. "Where'd she go?" Grace asked.

"She's making for the warp gate on the 29th Floor. It's closer than going back through the dungeon," Sarph guessed.

"What? Why?" Artorias asked.

"Is she seriously going to run all the way back to Swilvane?" Tyria questioned in disbelief.

"Not alone she isn't," Pierce declared, rattling off his flute's tune to summon Knox. With a flash, the werewolf emerged, and he quickly recalled Kit as he climbed onto Knox's back. "Come on!" he declared, as Knox nodded and pursued the Speed Witch.

"TechType: Motorbike!" Tyria agreed, manifesting her hover-bike and taking off in pursuit.

"They'll never catch up to Hare, will they?" Artorias asked.

"No. But the question is, will Hare make it back to Swilvane quickly enough?" Sigurd asked.

"But that can't be possible. It's, like," Grace frantically tried to turn the numbers over in her head, but Fleur tapped her on the shoulder and offered her a note.

"Three hundred miles?" the Dragon Slayer gasped.

"Grace," Sarph smiled at her. "You should know by now. Never tell a wizard of Phoenix's Eye that something's not possible,"

-[CoT]-

"Arun!" Hare shouted as she sped into the Warp Gate on the Twenty-Ninth Floor. With a flash she was back outside Alfheim's walls, staring down at the massive drop, where Arun was spread beneath her like a toy city. How was she going to get down? Cursing, she kicked herself for leaving her wing harness in the tavern in the Town of Beginnings.

Frowning, Hare eyed the closest of the twelve massive outriggers that helped stabilise the massive castle, nestled atop Yggdrasil as it was. And this particular one hung above a large lake to the west of the World Tree.

It looked almost like a massive diving board.

In a green blur of Speed Magic, she sped along the strut, before reaching the end, with the outrigger spire reaching up like a pale imitation of the main structure. And, in a massive leap, she threw herself from the bridge, dropping like a stone towards the water far beneath. In mid-air, Hare flipped, bringing her hands up and diving like a professional, feeling the wind whip at her hair as she fell.

-[CoT]-

"Excuse me. I need to borrow a knife. Do you have one? Any knife will do,"

Fiona looked up, surprised at being addressed. "Huh? Oh, sure,"

-[CoT]-

After a period that felt like hours but was less than a minute, Hare hit the water beneath, parting the surface and cutting into the liquid beneath. Holding her breath and twisting her body, the Sylph kicked off the bottom to the lake - her velocity having driven her almost to the bottom - and, kicking at super speed, erupted from the surface like a geyser.

As she did, Hare recalled her new wall-running ability. Was it possible . . ? Blurring into a mid-air run, she hit the surface of the water - and took off, kicking up a trail of spray in her wake as she ran over the surface of the water. A couple of aquatic mobs emerged from the shoreline in her wake, but Hare was too fast, leaving them in her trail. It wasn't long before she hit the beach and sped onto solid land.

As she ran, Hare flashed through the map of south-west Alfheim in her mind. The most common route for people travelling between Arun and Swilvane to take was the Valley of the Butterflies; travelling west until they passed through the massive ring of mountains that separated Arun from the nine outer countries that made up the coast. From there, a traveller would cut through the territory of the Cait Sith, heading south until they reached the Ancient Forest. From there it was just a few hours' hike southwest to Swilvane.

But there was a faster way; an underground tunnel called the Legrue Corridor. It was a twisting, curving warren of subterranean passageways, infested with monsters both ways. One end opened into the southwest corner of the plains surrounding Arun; the other opened straight into the northeast corner of the Ancient Forest. It was far more dangerous than the Valley of the Butterflies . . but it was faster.

So Hare veered south, making for where she expected the Legrue Corridor's Arun-side opening to be. As she ran, she passed a variety of mobs lurking in the field, but by the time they recognised her presence, she was out of range.

-[CoT]-

He ascended the stairs, knife tucked into his pocket. It was early morning, and Sakuya would be in her office, just getting started. No one would bat an eye at his presence. And, if he played his part correctly, no one would suspect him.

-[CoT]-

Less than fifteen minutes after Prince had informed her of XaXa's presence in Swilvane, Hare was speeding through the small settlement that had cropped up around the entrance to the Legrue Corridor and into the caverns beneath the mountains. And as far as she was concerned, that meant she was running fifteen minutes too late.

The Legrue Corridor passed in a blur of caves, glowing crystals, and monsters. Trolls and skeletons vanished as she rushed across the walls and around them, and Hare barely even registered the titular underground town of Legrue as she passed through it. Her stomach grumbled - running for so long was burning a lot of her energy - but she ignored it, blasting her way through the second half of the Corridor and, after just ten minutes, emerging back into the sunlight of the Sylph Territory.

Hare slowed for a second, eyeballing the tangled mess of trees between her and Swilvane. There was no way she'd be able to maintain speed while circumnavigating all of those obstructions. Not to mention the monsters no doubt hiding in the roots.

She looked up, eyeing the canopies. Hmm . . .

-[CoT]-

His hand rested on the doorknob, and he knocked.

"Come in," Sakuya, already sounding weary despite the early hour, called.

-[CoT]-

In a blur, Hare ran straight up the nearest tree, reaching the top in seconds, and throwing herself to the nearest one, before leaping off a sturdy-looking branch and landing in the next tree. For a couple of minutes, the princess sped between trees in this manner, passing above ignorant mobs. But then the dreaded noise rang out.

The sound of a branch under her feet breaking.

As the support fell away, Hare frantically threw herself towards the closest tree, and hit the trunk with her face. Moaning, she grasped a branch and pulled herself upwards, gritting her teeth . . . and then the tree shook beneath her. Her impact had sent tremors running through the wood, and at the base, the tree was cracking and toppling forwards.

Shifting her weight, Hare launched herself up the toppling tree, and ran into the air, one leg stretched beneath her, the other pointed backwards, arms extended like wings. "I don't have time for this!" she bellowed, jumping from the next tree, and the next, an endless series of leaps as she traversed the country at breakneck speed.

And then the forest fell away beneath her, opening into plains. Realising almost too late that she was about to fall to the ground, no doubt sustaining significant injury in the process, Hare instead lashed out with another kick to the final tree in the series. Like it's predecessor, the trunk cracked, and the tree toppled forwards, and Hare clung to the branches as it collapsed to the ground. With perfect timing, Hare leapt clear right before it hit the ground, and landed on solid ground, already running. It was barely two kilometres from the edge of the forest to Swilvane. She was almost there.

There were no crowds, no parades, no banners this time. No one even realised as Hare entered the city, and all people saw was an impossibly fast green blur speeding through the streets, vaulting over cars and angling around pedestrians. It was barely a moment from entering the city that the smooth, green surface of the castle's central spire loomed before her. Hare didn't even slow down, running straight up the curved side of the building, justifying her decision by deciding it was faster than taking the stairs.

-[CoT]-

"Oh, joy," Sakuya moaned, seeing the stack of paperwork in his hands. The man moved towards the desk and walked around it, standing next to her as he deposited the stack of papers before the chair she was seated in.

"You know, old friend," she cast a world-weary look at him, "sometimes I just wish I didn't have to deal with all this nonsense,"

"Oh, it's not so bad," he replied. In a flash, the knife was in his hand. "Actually, I don't think you'll have to worry about anything ever again,"

-[CoT]-

As she reached what she estimated to be the sixtieth floor, her saucepan materialised in her hand. Angling left, she made for where she guessed Sakuya's office window to be, and soon her feet were pattering on glass. With the reinforced butt of the saucepan, Hare smashed the glass under her feet and pushed herself into the room.

"What the - princess?" a scribe spluttered at Hare's sudden arrival.

The Speed witch looked around, realising that she had ended up in a records room. "Where's my mother's office?" she demanded.

"Just down the -" The unfortunate man was interrupted by a scream that echoed through the building.

It was all the information Hare needed, and she blurred down the corridor, smashing the doors to Lady Sakuya's room open and immediately taking in the scene.

Her mother was slumped forwards in a pile of papers, blood pooling on the desk and dripping onto the floor. Standing next to her, clad in a black cloak, was a man with a skull mask and glowing red eyes covering his face, holding a bloodied dagger.

"Princess?" Red-Eyed XaXa blinked in surprise. "But you're supposed to be . . well, whatever. It's actually rather auspicious that you come to be here, just in time to witness your mother being murdered by Red-Eyed Xa -"

"Cut the crap!" Hare barked, interrupting him. "I know exactly who you are, Shouichi Shinkawa. Or would you rather I call you by the name you've used for the last twelve years? _Sterben_?" she challenged.

Red-Eyed XaXa paused, taken by surprise. ". . Well," he murmured, reaching upwards with his free hand and grasping his mask. "I see you've figured everything out,"

Hare stiffened as the Coffin removed his mask, revealing the familiar face of Lady Sakuya's chief of staff. "But it's pronounced 'Sch-TAR-ban'," he corrected her with a frown. "Honestly; twelve years and no one got my name right even once," he grumbled.

"You'll never get away with this," Hare growled, ignoring the fatigue plaguing her body.

"How cliche," Sterben scoffed. "You think anyone will believe you? The wayward princess who conveniently came back just two days before her mother was murdered? I could pin this whole thing on you and your friends, and you can enjoy life in jail,"

"Maybe they wouldn't believe me," Hare shrugged, shaking her head. Then she span, swinging the massive double doors wide open, revealing a score of castle employees standing behind her, all of whom stared at Sterben with open mouths and accusing eyes. "But I'm not the only one here,"

Sterben tched. "I see. Well, in that case, I'll just kill you all!" he declared, charging forwards and drawing a handgun from inside his cloak. Hare recognised it as the «Type 54 "Black Star"». Red-Eyed XaXa's signature weapon. She knew there was no way to attack him that would stop him from killing at least one of the people behind her.

So she dashed sideways and grasped the edge of the giant map of Alfheim that adorned the wall of the office, tore it from its hanging, and spread it like a banner between XaXa and the crowd. The assassin paused as Swilvane itself blocked the witnesses from his view - and then Hare pulled the map around him, yanking it taut and pinning his arms to his waist, effectively immobilising him. "Oi! You lot! Hold him!" she shouted, tossing the Coffin at the assembled crowd, who quickly pinned him under their feet.

Hare turned to her mother's twitching, half-dead form, and picked her up, pressing her back into the chair so that she could see the bloody, drenched wound. "Oh, no no no," she moaned, pressing hands to the wound. "Get a doctor!" she hollered. Several members of the crowd ran off, no doubt aiming for the lower levels, where the medical wing was. The Sylph knew, though, that they wouldn't be fast enough.

Spluttering, Sakuya feebly lifted her head and locked green eyes with her daughter's. "H-hare," she mumbled, and her daughter stiffened, looking into her face. "Take care . . of Swilvane," the leader of the Sylphs moaned.

Hare's face set. "That's your final words?!" she raged. "Oh, hell no! You are dying and I am right in front of you and all you can think about is the fucking country?! You listen to me, 'mother dear'! You do _not_ get to die and drop this crap on my shoulders, you hear me! You are going to live to be the shitty mother you always have been!" she roared - and it hit her. Fumbling with her pocket, she pulled out the small pile of green crystals that she had stolen from Sigurd. "Heal!" Hare yelled at the dozen or so crystals, and every Healing Crystal lit up with green light, and she smashed the entire stack against her mother's chest.

A burst of energy blew the bloodied desk away from the two women as a huge flower of green magic bloomed from the wound, knocking Hare backwards. Sakuya gasped, her eyes shining with green light, as muscles and flesh knitted back together, reversing the damage that XaXa had inflicted upon her.

Coughing and spitting out flecks of blood, Sakuya slumped back into her chair, eyeing the bloody hole in her gown in amazement. "Hare, you . ." she trailed off in sheer bemusement. "That was amazing. Thank you,"

Hare scoffed, picking herself up. "Don't feel like I did it for you or anything. Just, if you died, I'd have to take over the country, and I ain't dealing with that sort of crap," she huffed.

Sakuya sighed. "Why do you act this way towards me, Hare? When did we grow apart?"

"I'd say it was when you tried to marry me off to that backstabbing pig," her daughter scoffed.

"That was for the good of the nation," the Lady frowned, adopting a long-suffering expression.

"I was sixteen and you were throwing me at the altar!" Hare protested.

"I had to do that! Everyone liked Sigurd, he would have made a great king," Sakuya left unsaid that Hare would be a terrible queen, even though it was a sentiment they both shared.

"He was _working_ with _Laughing Coffin_!" Hare retorted.

Sakuya paused, briefly taken aback by this revelation, but shook her head. "He was still my best option at the time. It would have been what was best for the country," she finished.

"And that's all you've ever done!" Hare snapped. "You've always done what's 'best for the country'! But you've never done what's best for _me_!" she spat.

The Sylph Lady had no words to respond to that. Her jaw worked, but no sound emerged.

"Enjoy your country, mum. If you need me, I'll be in Fiore. With my _family_ ," the Phoenix huffed.

"Hare, wait . ." Sakuya pleaded. But Hare was already gone.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Family drama. So tense. So whacked out.**

 **Seriously, this is my first time writing a family feud like this. How am I doing? I'd love to get feedback! Please?**

 **Anyway. I'm sure everyone noticed the triple update today! All but unprecedented, and that's because today is my very good friend pokeheroaadyn's birthday! . . Or maybe it was yesterday. Time zones are confusing. Either way, everyone wish him a very happy birthday, because this chapter is here courtesy of him! Happy Birthday, Aadyn!**

 **Also, I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone about the Chapter 100 Q/A session? Want to get Hare or Sakuya's opinion on their relationship? Give me some questions! Peace!**


	16. A Royal Send-Off

Chapter 86: A Royal Send-Off

It was late in the day when the remainder of the Phoenixes - the ones that had been sent to attack Laughing Coffin, at any rate - made it back to Swilvane.

Pierce immediately went to check on Cubelios, trusting the rest of the group to find Hare. It wasn't long until they found her, waiting in the guild dormitories.

"Oh good, you're here. Let's leave," were the first words out of Hare's mouth when Tyria, Sarph and Grace entered the room.

"Well, we have to wait for Artorias and Fleur to get back from the market in any case, but why are you so eager to leave?" Sarph asked. "This is your home,"

"No. Phoenix's Eye is my home," Hare corrected him. "And I want to get back there,"

"That's hard to argue with," Grace nodded, agreeing.

Tyria shrugged. "Well, alright then. Master said we were going to meet up in the city to the north, right? Freesia?"

"Freelia, actually," Hare corrected her. "But yes. I'm good to go whenever; there's no reason for me to stay,"

"Then let's go find Pierce," the Dragon Slayer asserted.

-[CoT]-

"How are you feeling?" Pierce gently asked, leaning over the bed. Kit was crouched on the bedside table, eyeing the bed's occupant warily.

Kinana blearily blinked purple eyes up at him. "Oh hey, it's you," she murmured.

"Do you remember me?" Pierce asked, hoping that her memories had returned.

"Sure I do!" the purple-haired girl smiled up at him.

The Tamer's eyebrows shot up in elation.

"You're the nice boy who visited me a couple of days ago!" All the colour briefly vanished from Pierce's body, leaving him a white shape against Kinana's vision.

"Come on, lemme possess her. I'm sure I can fix up whatever's wrong with her brain," Kit encouraged him. "No," Pierce shot him down automatically.

Kinana sighed. "I wish I could remember why you cared about me so much," she smiled weakly at the Phoenix.

"Hey, it's like I told you. A friend of mine trusted me to keep an eye on you for him. I'm sure that, once you see Erik again, it'll all come rushing back," Pierce assured her.

"I hope so," Carefully, the purplette sat up, and swung her legs off the bed, onto the ground. Frowning, she patted her right leg, wincing at the cramp. "I don't know why, but something feels . . strange about my legs," he admitted.

"I'll explain everything later," Pierce assured her. Kinana frowned at his choice of words, but shrugged them off as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and helped her stand up. "Easy does it," he assured her with the same gentle, soothing tone he took when dealing with frightened animals.

Kinana smiled at him as he helped her towards the door, Kit trailing at their heels.

-[CoT]-

"Oh, there you are," Sarph nodded as Pierce, Kit and Kinana rejoined the other four Phoenixes in the main hall on the castle's ground floor.

"This place needs an elevator," Kit groused.

Tyria watched with an unreadable expression on her face as Pierce walked towards them, Kinana hanging from his shoulders and supporting herself on nervous legs. She pursed her lips as a faint twinge of jealousy stirred her heart. Fleur, though, noticed how her friend was feeling and tapped her on the shoulder. Surprised, Tyria turned to face her, and Fleur cast a wordless glance towards the two, before giving her a stern look, as though to question whether she was really going to get worked up just because Pierce cared about another girl. Tyria nodded, chastised. She was reading far too much into it. Of course Pierce cared about Kinana - as Cubelios, she had been one of his partners for three months. It wasn't as though he was suddenly going to be romantic towards her just because she was human now . . . Right?

"No Artorias?" Pierce checked, and Fleur shook her head.

"He said he had something to take care of, and that he'd catch up with us on the road to Cape Janah," Sarph clarified.

"Cape Janah? I thought we were meeting Master and the others in Freelia?" Pierce parroted with a frown.

"Oh, right, didn't I mention? Alice sent me a message. They've got a ship and are all set to sail back to Fiore. So for the sake of saving time, they're going to sail down the coast and meet us at a small town on the border between Sylph and Cait Sith territory," Sarph explained.

"Alright," Pierce nodded, before looking at Hare. "So, that's it? We're just walking out? You and your mum don't have any . ."

"Let's just go," Hare snapped, turning on her heel and walking away, pushing past a couple of Royal advisors and exiting through the main doors. After exchanging concerned glances, the other Phoenixes followed her.

-[CoT]-

"So, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did. You are Sinon, correct? I'm hopeful you can guess why," Artorias nodded to the woman he was meeting, fingering his «Bloodstained Tunic». Sif, the name he had chosen for his new pet, was lying near his feet, the white wolf almost seeming to be asleep. However, Artorias knew that she was alert and ready to defend him at a second's provocation.

"I was wondering when that old rag would find someone to wear it," the other woman, a slim lady with blue hair, done up in the twin triangle style of a Cait Sith and flowing down her back in a long ponytail. Sinon, as her name apparently was, wore a green jacket over a white shirt, with similarly coloured leggings and black shorts. Artorias eyed the large, black sniper rifle that was slung over her shoulder, unnerved by the presence of such a weapon.

Sinon chuckled, following his gaze, and in a fluid motion pulled it from her back and into her lap. "You like it? It's called the «PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II»," she offered. "It's my baby,"

"I can see that," Artorias nodded, having a flashback to his brief encounter with Kynigós, the Edolas counterpart of Pierce. He had treated his rifle in a similar manner, from what he'd seen.

"But anyway. The «Bloodstained Tunic». I suppose you heard that I was the one who found it and vendored it off, right? Small wonder that it ended up in the Swilvane armoury - from what I heard, that place has everything," Sinon nodded lazily, reclining in her seat.

"I suppose it does. But Fiona, the armourer, also told me that it was cursed," Artorias pointed out.

"I doubt it. It's a major plus to ATK, that's it. Unless you buy into the _supernatural_ ," Sinon scoffed.

"And say that I do?" Artorias placidly suggested.

"What are you, nuts?" the bounty hunter questioned, raising a surprised eyebrow.

"In my line of work, I can't afford to take chances," the S-Class Wizard responded.

"Alright, fine. The short version is, there was this blacksmith. A guy called Grimlock. He lived with his wife, Griselda, alone in the mountains. And Griselda was always this perfect homemaker, never questioned, obeyed orders, all the good stuff from a few hundred years back," Sinon scoffed again, obviously annoyed by the idea of a woman considering herself inferior to her husband on the sole basis of stereotype. "But all good things come to an end, and Griselda got a little too big for Grimlock's boots. She started going out, joined a party, even worked with some guilders from time to time. You know, normal stuff,"

Normal for Alfheim, perhaps, Artorias reflected but said nothing.

"But Grimlock didn't like that his little flower was blooming. He started to miss the way she used to be," Sinon suddenly slammed a fist down on the table. "So he _killed_ her,"

The Blood wizard flinched, shocked. "That seems . . like a bit of a leap,"

"His logic went something like he had to kill her while she was still his wife, so that he could at least love her memory," The woman shrugged, dispassionate. "I don't pretend to understand psychos. Anyway, after he did it, he went mad with grief. Shut himself up in his shack. That's where I came in. Remember that party Griselda was going out with? They got worried. Tried to investigate, but Grimlock kept them away. So they called a professional," Sinon punctuated the statement by patting her chest.

Artorias nodded, following so far.

"But when I got up there, I figured out what was going on pretty fast. And the weird thing? Heh," Sinon chuckled mirthlessly. "Grimlock's actions made him a monster. So Alfheim decided to treat him as one. Specifically, a boss,"

"A boss monster? And you fought him? Single-handed?" Artorias raised his eyebrows, impressed. He hadn't pegged her for the type capable of such a thing.

"Well, he became what we in the biz call an event boss. They're not as tough as field or floor bosses," the bounty hunter shrugged. "But yeah. And when I killed him, he dropped two items. A sword called «Guilty Thorn», and that «Bloodstained Tunic»,"

"So I'm wearing the shirt of a murderer," the Blood wizard surmised. "That's why it's cursed,"

"Pretty much, yeah," Sinon nodded.

"Alright then," Artorias nodded, standing up. Sif was on her feet in an instant, ready to follow if he left.

". . That's it?" the woman blinked, surprised. "You don't even care?"

The self-proclaimed weeping phoenix shot her a small smile as he turned to leave. "I have plenty of blood on my hands. I don't care if a bit gets on my shirt,"

-[CoT]-

"So, Pierce? You said that you'd explain everything when we had time," Kinana prompted as they set out on the road leading to Cape Janah.

Pierce looked somewhat uncomfortable, but nodded. "Alright. I guess you deserve to know," he admitted.

So he explained everything. How Kinana had once been partnered to a dark wizard named Erik, in the form of a giant snake and under the name 'Cubelios'. He recapped the events when the alliance between guilds had been formed to defeat the Oracion Seis, and how he had been personally requested by the Magic Council to fight Cobra. Since there were no laws regarding non-sentient animals engaging in criminal activity, if Pierce hadn't agreed to rescue Cubelios and aid in her rehabilitation, she would have been put down when Cobra, or Erik, as Pierce knew him, was brought in. So he did, and Cubelios became one of his beasts. Upon examining her, he had found that she was in perfect health physically, but was afflicted with a massively convoluted matrices of spells and enchantments. Because her condition was stable and some of the spells fragile, Pierce had feared that tampering with any of them might have had horrible repercussions. If he'd had his way, Cubelios would have lived out her days happily in her giant snake state.

She had stayed with him for three months, until, during the course of the fiasco with the Sempiternal Phoenix, Cubelios was affected by a reality-warping temporal magic called Real Nightmare. The effect had forcibly and simultaneously removed all magic from her, and subsequently caused her to revert to her natural state; a young human woman.

"And that was me," Kinana said. It was a statement, not a question.

"That is you," Pierce confirmed.

"I understand," the girl nodded, reflecting on this. "This Erik person, he cared about me a lot, didn't he?" Kinana asked.

"Yeah, he does," the Tamer nodded. The former serpent opened her mouth, but Pierce, realising why she was speaking in the past tense, forestalled her. "And I'm sure he still will, once I explain the situation to him. So don't worry. As soon as we're back in Fiore, we'll go see him,"

Kinana smiled at the thought. "That sounds nice," she admitted.

A few moments passed in silence.

"I suppose I never thanked you, did I?" the purplette questioned.

"For what?" the Tamer frowned, curious.

"For saving my life, of course," Kinana beamed at him. "It's like you said, if you didn't intervene, they would have killed me. I suppose I didn't understand then, so I didn't think much of it. But it's thanks to you that I'm here, myself again. So, thank you,"

"Oh, um, you're welcome," Pierce accepted.

-[CoT]-

It had taken a few hours on the road, and a rather frantic (at least, by his standards) Blood wizard and his pet wolf catching up to them, but eventually, the Phoenixes arrived in the small port town of Cape Janah. Looking around, most of the population were recognisable as either Sylphs or Cait Sith.

"No time to hang around, Master said the boat would pull in at around three," Sarph asserted, leading them through the streets to where he surmised the docks were.

"And what time is it now?" Grace questioned.

"Half past," Sarph grimaced. "Stupid mobs, slowing us down," he grumbled, recalling the several occasions on the road when they had been obliged to stop and kill attacking monsters that had come out of the fields.

But it didn't take long to reach the port of the port town, and when they did . . "No way," Pierce shook his head.

"Is that our ship?" Tyria questioned in disbelief.

Fleur raised impressed eyebrows.

"It's gotta be. This is exactly the kind of stunt our guild would pull," Hare pointed out.

The port's fishing trawlers and tugboats were all dominated by a large, magnificent galleon, whose hull was a weathered brown and the two-level upper cabin painted a burnished red. It's sails were orange and looked as though they were on fire, even when they were furled. Protrusions attached to the side gave the appearance of furled wings and feathery ruffs, and the prow was crowned by what was unmistakeably a massive phoenix head. And each eye was encircled by a pair of feathers, moulded into the wood. Mounted atop the upper mast was a black flag, emblazoned in white with the eye of Phoenix's Eye, but lacking its feathers, which were instead crossed beneath it like swords. Or bones.

"Is that a _pirate ship_?" Tyria spluttered.

"It's a _Phoenix's Eye pirate ship_ ," Pierce nodded, amazed.

Sarph smirked. "This is so typical of our guild,"

"Sorry - what's a pirate?" Kinana curiously questioned. "Tell you later," Pierce assured her, and she nodded.

"Ahoy!" a familiar voice called, and the group turned to see Donna, still clad in her special white robes, with the «Phoenix Eye Rod» slung over her back and her Celestial Keyring hanging from the golden bird-head's beak. She was carrying a couple of bags of groceries, and quickened her pace as she approached.

"Hello," Artorias nodded graciously.

"Tell me that that's not our ship," Tyria immediately demanded, gesturing at the massive red vessel.

"That's our ship," Donna confirmed.

"Well, at least tell me it's not a pirate ship," the Electrian demanded.

"It's a pirate ship," her guildmate smiled.

Tyria groaned. "Remind me again why I joined a guild full of crazy people? Does no one see the obvious problems with travelling with pirates?"

"Don't worry. These pirates are part of our guild," Donna assured her.

That threw everyone for a loop. ". . . Did Master Feng actually recruit the pirates?" Pierce questioned in disbelief. That seemed like a new level of insanity, even for Phoenix's Eye.

"Not exactly. Come aboard, Master will explain everything,"

-[CoT]-

"There you all are!" Feng exclaimed as soon as she caught sight of the returning Phoenixes. For a moment the Master seemed like she might hug the group, but restrained herself, and settled for a warm, welcoming smile. "Everyone; I'd like you all to meet . . oh, bother, where did she go?"

Artorias raised an eyebrow and turned, finding an unfamiliar woman petting Sif. "Master, who is this and why does my wolf like her so much?"

"There you are!" the guild master snapped, pushing through the crowd and picking up the woman by her long, black hair, who cried out in irritation as she was hoisted off the ground. "What have I told you about wandering off?" she demanded.

"But there's a wolfy!" the woman moaned gesturing at Sif, who regarded her curiously.

Feng seemed to notice the wolf for the first time, and she raised an eyebrow. "Yes, indeed there is. Why is there a 'wolfy'?" she asked, curious.

Artorias fondled his pet's ears. "This is Sif. I fed her some meat and she fell in love with me. I'll admit that she's growing on me," he explained.

In response, Sif growled affectionately, and Pierce frowned. If he didn't know better, he could swear that some unknown lady had just declared; _"I would follow you to the ends of the earth,"_

"I see," Feng mused.

"Master, who exactly is this?" Hare demanded.

The young woman pulled herself free of their master's grasp and drew herself to her full height. "I am Captain Kenzie Black," she declared, her long, black hair billowing in the wind. The folds of her red leather jacket and loose brown trousers rippled, and she smiled devilishly. "But on the Grand Line, they call me Black the Succubus. I'm the Captain of the Black Eye Pirates, and I am also," She pulled open her coat, revealing two things. Firstly; she wasn't wearing a shirt, only lacy black underwear, under her jacket. And secondly, the Phoenix's Eye logo was tattooed in black ink on her midriff. "An S-Class wizard of the Phoenix's Eye guild,"

Everyone except Sarph was shocked at this reveal. "You're part of our guild?" Artorias blinked.

"Wait. If you're one of our guildmates, how come we've never seen you before?" Tyria frowned.

"S-Class wizards do often go away on long jobs. But surely we would have met at least once if you were a genuine member of our guild," Artorias frowned. Fleur shared the sentiment.

"I assure you, she is part of our guild," Sarph cut over all of them, nodding reassuringly.

"If that's true, why have we never met her?" Hare challenged.

"Because in the year X775, before any of you except Sarph had even joined the guild, Captain Black and her team accepted a Decade Quest. And it is a job that she has been pursuing ever since," Master Feng explained.

"Wait. X775?" Grace turned the numbers over in her head. "But that means -"

"You've been on the same job for _sixteen years_?" Pierce questioned, incredulous. "What the hell kind of job needs that sort of timeframe?"

Kenzie chuckled, shaking her head in mirth. "I'll be sure to tell you all about it during the voyage. But what's important is; Master over here called me. Said she needed my help. So we was happy to put things on hold and sail over here to pick you all up,"

"Impressive. I didn't even know that we had another S-Class wizard besides myself, Sarph, Garrotte and Faraday," Artorias admitted, intrigued.

"Well, I didn't know that there was such an attractive young man in the ranks," Kenzie winked at him, and Artorias looked mildly conflicted at the praise.

"There'll be plenty of time for you all to get to know Captain Black during the trip," Master assured them. "But we all want to get home, so I suggest that we cast off at once. Assuming the Black Eye Pirates are ready to depart?" she asked, to which Kenzie shot her a winning smile. "Any time, Master,"

-[CoT]-

And it was true. Barely twenty minutes later, the various Phoenixes, as well as Kenzie's Black Eye Pirates - all of whom soon proved that they were also members of Phoenix's Eye - were all loaded onto the ship, as well as plenty of provisions for the voyage ahead, and the ship, which Captain Black had informed them was christened the _Fowl_ _Iris_ , was about to cast off.

Team Pierce had had a heartfelt reunion with Boomer, who, predictably, couldn't believe that he had missed out on an entire adventure just because he felt the need to take care of his car. Incidentally, the Sonic Boom was nestled securely in the ship's hold. Eve and Alice were also present, and the team was happy to be reunited.

And so it was that the Phoenixes were lounging on the main deck as the _Fowl Iris_ pulled out of the port and turned south.

"Odd," the ship's captain mused, watching the shoreline in curiosity. "Everybody! Looks like we've got a crowd to see us off!"

"Should we speed up, captain?" one of her subordinates asked, and Kenzie shook her head. "Only if they start shooting at us again,"

Meanwhile, Team Pierce and co. had also noticed what was going on on the shoreline. A mass of green soldiers had congregated on the cliff, flying proud banners which she recognised as baring the Sylph nation crest.

"Is that the Sylph army?" Pierce frowned.

"Forget the army - that's my mother!" Hare indignantly exclaimed. Sure enough, the crowd was parting to reveal what was, even at a distance, unmistakably the ruler of the Sylph Nation, standing on the shoreline. "What's she doing? She's not supposed to leave the city!"

"Actually, I think the army is the point of contention. If they're here, that means they've been pulled away from guarding the border," Sarph pointed out. "She left her kingdom vulnerable - for what? To see us off? What is she thinking?"

A small smile tugged at Hare's lips. She had an idea. She just wondered if she was right.

"Wizards of Phoenix's Eye!" Magically enhanced, Lady Sakuya's voice echoed over the water. "I have come here to personally bid you all farewell! The value of the service you have done for Alfheim in ridding us of Laughing Coffin cannot be overestimated, and, on behalf of all -"

"Cut the crap!" Hare suddenly hollered back across the water, surprising Sakuya into silence. "You came all this way for a reason, right? So quit talking like we're all blowhard nobles!" For a moment, she seemed to wrest with herself, before her jaw set, and Hare continued; "If you're gonna do this, don't do it as Lady Sakuya! Do it as my mother!"

Sakuya's eyebrows raised, and she smiled. "Very well then! Everyone!" She turned, facing the assembled troops. "One! Two! Three!"

 _ **"PHOENIX'S EYE FOREVER!"**_ The cry rang up from hundreds of throats, no doubt echoing for miles around.

Suddenly, the _Fowl Iris_ shook under their feet, and Kenzie's voice echoed through the ship. "We've caught the current! You'd better wrap this up; we can't stay!"

Hare exhaled, before breathing in and bellowing; "Goodbye! But don't worry! I'll be back someday . . mum!"

Sakuya smiled, and a tear trickled down her cheek. "Take care of yourself, sweetheart! I'll always be here if you or your friends need my help! Goodbye!"

And so, amidst much cheering and shouting, the _Fowl Iris_ , and Phoenix's Eye with it, was borne on the southern current away from Alfheim, and back towards Fiore.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **I am so happy right now! Last week's chapter got three reviews! In one day no less! That's amazing! New record, whoo!**

 **Anyway. With this chapter, we officially end the Princess of Lies arc. At fourteen chapters, it has just barely edged out over the previous longest arc, the S-Class Trials arc with thirteen chapters.**

 **The record won't last, though. I'm certain of that.**

 **Also, let's give a warm welcome to the newest member of the Phoenix's Eye cast, renowned wizard pirate Kenzie Black! More on her next chapter, though. Peace!**


	17. The Ultimate Job: Find the One Piece!

Chapter 87: The Ultimate Job: Find The One Piece!

 **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **I want to announce that I have begun work on a Movie event for Phoenix's Eye, in the vein of Phoenix Priestess and Dragon Cry. It shall be entitled; 'Phoenix's Eye The Movie: The Tower of Dreams', and, like large parts of the rest of the story, it will involve significant crossover elements with another of my favourite animes. But I've gotta keep you guessing, so I won't come outright and tell you which one it is. Instead, I'll say this; somewhere in this chapter is an Easter Egg, a small clue that the truly knowledgeable readers will recognise that points to the nature of the crossover. That's why I put this note at the start of the chapter, so that you'll know to look for something. Happy hunting! Now, on with the story.**

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _Pierce emerged from this wormhole and found himself floating in a tunnel of multicoloured light. "Where am I now?" he asked, looking around - and blanched._

 _Some kind of massive metal spaceship, glistening with colourful lights and trailing smoke, was pitching, out of control, towards him. He screamed as it approached, and frantically started swimming in mid-air, spotting the wormhole beneath him and hoping that he could reach it before the massive machine hit him. But he wasn't fast enough, and it spiralled towards Pierce, who screwed his eyes shut and waited for the end._

 _The ship spiralled past him._

 _Pierce opened his eyes and watched it sail away into the distance, shedding smoke and debris. A chunk of which hit him in the stomach. "Ouch!" he gasped, looking down and snatching the object that had hit him. He frowned, inspecting it. It was some kind of metal egg with a jagged pattern running along it. Shrugging, he tucked it into the pocket of his «Flame-Licked Parka» and resumed swimming back into the wormhole._

 _-[CoT]-_

Aboard the Fowl Iris, things soon settled into a quiet rhythm. The projected journey time, from southwest Alfheim to eastern Fiore - literally the other side of the globe - was a month and a half. Assuming nothing went wrong, they would arrive around March. Luckily, the Fowl Iris was by no means a small ship, and the large decks it boasted were perfect for training.

That was not to say that the Phoenixes did not quickly get bored, though.

And so, the first night after they set sail, Captain Kenzie Black "The Succubus" found herself being pestered by the younger Phoenixes for information about her. Why had they never heard of her before? What was the job she and her crew were on, that could take sixteen years and still not be complete? Why was she a pirate? Where had she been?

"Settle down, settle down, everyone," Kenzie commanded. Most of Phoenix's Eye was gathered in the ship's mess hall, pirates and wizards alike, and all who didn't already know were eagerly paying attention. "There's a story to be told, alright, and I'll be happy to tell you if you _let_ me!"

Grace nodded eagerly.

"How old is she?" Tyria quietly asked, and Pierce shrugged. "I'm estimating late twenties, early thirties,"

"I am not! Don't you know how rude it is to accuse a woman of being old!" Kenzie suddenly roared.

"Then how old are you?" Grace asked, a tad too innocently.

". . Do you want to hear the story or not?" Captain Black snapped, and everyone fell silent.

"Good. Now, the job began in X775, sure, but to really understand it, you have to go back to the year X768," Kenzie began.

-[CoT]-

 _Wealth, fame, power. Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates, obtained this and everything else the world had to offer. And his dying words drove countless souls to the seas;_

"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place! Now, you just have to find it!"

 _These words lured men to the Grand Line, in pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine. This is the time known as the 'Great Pirate Era'!_

But all that was across the world, in the dangerous ocean known as the Grand Line. It wasn't something for the wizards of a guild in Fiore like Phoenix's Eye to worry about, was it?

But then the job requests came out. They were simple pieces of paper; printed with ten words only.

 **SAIL THROUGH THE GRAND LINE AND FIND THE ONE PIECE**

They appeared on every job board in Fiore, apparently overnight, and were quickly relegated to the S-Class section. Find the "One Piece"? The legendary treasure of the King of the Pirates? Every pirate in the sea had been searching for it since Gold Roger died. And most of them had found only their own demise.

There was an uproar; where had the jobs come from? Who had sent them? Such a dangerous job could only possibly be entertained by the most powerful and, admittedly, the most crazy of wizards. Investigation uncovered that the jobs had been sent through the proper system, like any other. The man who had sent them was documented only by the name 'Rayleigh'. Half of the guilds in Fiore tore the requests to pieces. For many of the others, it simply sat on the job board for years, collecting dust, as no one was crazy enough to take the job.

(Incidentally, Fairy Tail kept theirs, but it was destroyed along with the first guild hall during the attack from Black Steel Gajeel in X784. No one noticed, and it was never replaced, so it was forgotten.)

But there was a man in Phoenix's Eye, an S-Class wizard of the time, and one of the guild's oldest members. His name was Vigaro.

And, in X775, he took the job.

"Are you out of your mind?" Master Feng had asked. "That job is hopeless. It's been seven years since it showed up and, even with the entire world looking, _no one_ has found the One Piece. You'll just get yourself killed,"

She never forgot the way he had responded.

Vigaro threw back his head and laughed. "I'm more than seventy years old, Master. Sooner or later, I'm going to die, anyway. There's nothing any of us can do about that," he shook his head. "But if I'm gonna die, I'm going to do it on my terms. And sailing around the world, in pursuit of the greatest treasure humanity's ever known? Sounds like a hell of a way to go out to me,"

Feng considered this, and after a second, she nodded. "There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?" she asked.

The old wizard shook his head in response. "I've thought long and hard, and I've made up my mind. I already asked Astro to build me a ship. I'm doing this, old friend, and you can't stop me,"

Feng snorted in false irritation. "It insults me that you think I would try,"

-[CoT]-

As Vigaro left the office, he found himself beset by a young woman. "Vigaro! Are you going on another job? Can I come?" young, thirteen-year-old Kenzie Black excitedly asked.

A smile tugged at Vigaro's lips as he looked down at the guild's young ward. "No, Kenzie. This is going to be my last job, and you can't come with me this time," he admonished her.

"Your last job?" Kenzie parroted. "So what, you're gonna retire when you get back?"

The old man snorted. "Sure, something like that,"

"Right," Kenzie nodded, thinking furiously. Old man Vigaro always took her on jobs with him. Well, not always; sometimes, for the really dangerous jobs, he wouldn't let her come. So this was probably one of them . . but if it was going to be his last job ever, then she couldn't miss it! She had to come . . . even if old man Vigaro didn't know until it was too late.

-[CoT]-

And a date was set. Astro did a fine job constructing a vessel for Vigaro, as well as a couple of guildmates who wanted to go with him. It was called -

"The _Fowl Iris_?" Grace excitedly interrupted, looking around at their ship.

"No, not the _Fowl Iris_. That came later," Kenzie corrected her.

\- the _Flying Flag_ , a small caravel designed to be operated by only a few people. Vigaro was known to most of the guild, so all of Phoenix's Eye came to the Magnolia Docks to see him off.

"That's a horrible name!" Grace interrupted again. Pierce shushed her, but Kenzie snorted in amusement. "Of course it is. _Astro_ picked it,"

\- "Goodbye, everyone! We sail for the Grand Line! And I'll find the One Piece, for Phoenix's Eye!" Vigaro shouted from the tiller. One of his friends cut the line, and everyone in the guild cheered and waved them off as the four-man crew set sail towards the horizon.

A couple of days later, the group discovered Kenzie Black hiding in the hold.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Vigaro demanded, eyeing the black-haired young woman.

"If this is your last job, then I have to be there with you!" Kenzie immediately protested. Vigaro drew breath to respond, but she wasn't finished. "You've always brought me with you! You always let me help you! So why would you try to leave me behind for your last job ever?"

The old man paused, hearing her. ". . . You're right," he accepted.

"What?" one of his friends blinked.

But a smile tugged at Vigaro's lips as he regarded Kenzie. "Alright then. But I have to warn you, this is the most dangerous job I've ever been on. Legend has it that the One Piece, the treasure we're going after, lies at the far end of the Grand Line, the deadliest place in the world. One wrong move could get you killed,"

"Then I'll do everything right!" Kenzie hotly retorted.

"Alright," Vigaro smirked. "Welcome to the Phoenix's Eye Pirates,"

"Naah," the young girl shook her head furiously. "If we call ourselves Phoenix's Eye, they'll know where to find the people we care about. Like in books. We'll be, um . . the Black Eye Pirates!"

A smile tugged at Vigaro's lips. "Alright. That works for me,"

"Captain? A word?" one of his other friends asked, and Vigaro nodded. "Swab the deck, lassie. Mister Barrack wants a word,"

Barrack pulled him aside as Kenzie saluted and confirmed, "Aye, sir!"

"Are you joking?" the other man demanded. "You said your plan was to find the One Piece or die trying, and we all know you were shooting for the latter option. If you bring her along, we'll just get her killed!"

Vigaro snorted. "There's nothing I can do that will dissuade her from coming along. If we send her back, she'll just stow away again. The only thing we can do," he paused for effect, "is actually find the One Piece and bring it back to Phoenix's Eye,"

Barrack snorted in dry amusement, shaking his head. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be Phoenix's Eye if we weren't relying on a crazy plan like that,"

So, eventually, the Flying Flag reached Reverse Mountain, the legendary mountain that was the intersection between the five oceans of the world. It was also the only way for aspiring pirates to enter the Grand Line.

The Flying Flag's voyage had been completely successful until now; they had sailed past Electria and Alvarez, and everyone whooped for joy as they sailed up the storm surge that carried them up Reverse Mountain and into the lagoon at a top.

"I can't believe we just sailed up a mountain!" Kenzie burst out in excitement, climbing down from the prow.

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it? And there's no magic at all involved. It's a totally natural phenomenon," Vigaro agreed. It was one of the things he'd most wanted to see before he died.

Working together, the Black Eye Pirates manoeuvred away from the four channels that led into each of the four oceans and towards the one where all the water was going. The main channel that would feed into the Grand Line.

Things continued to go well as they sailed back out of the Grand Line and passed through the Twin Cape. It was rough sailing for a couple of days as they passed through the perpetual storms that surround the Red Line on either side, but following the log-pose (a magnetic compass used for navigation on the Grand Line) that Barrack had had the foresight to ask Astro to create, it wasn't long until they reached the first location along the route; the town of Whiskey Peak on Cactus Island.

Everything went downhill from there.

-[CoT]-

Kenzie sighed, thinking back. "We were welcomed with open arms, baited into a trap . . and ambushed by members of a criminal syndicate called Baroque Works,"

The Phoenixes saw her saddened expression. "You don't have to go on," Tyria assured her, but Kenzie clenched her fist. "No, you should know," she resolved. "Baroque Works was a criminal syndicate, and Whiskey Peak was a massive trap run by their agents. The idea was, they'd lure pirates in, party until they fell unconscious, and then lock them up and get their bounties from the World Government," she explained. "Thing is, we were new on the pirate scene. No one had heard of us at the time. We didn't have bounties on our heads,"

"Did they let you go?" Grace naively asked, and Kenzie shot her an unimpressed look. "No. And . . ." she sighed. "The adults didn't want a little girl like me exposed to alcohol and sex and all that. They made me wait on the ship,"

"Vigaro actually got captured?" Pierce blinked in surprise, and the captain scoffed. "Give us a little credit," she retorted, before sighing. "I heard later that Vigaro woke up while they were tying him up. He roused the rest of the crew, and they tried to fight the attackers off. But they were outnumbered a hundred to one,"

No one needed to ask what had happened next. Even someone as strong as Artorias would be hard-pressed to defeat a hundred people all at once. And even though Vigaro was an S-Class wizard, he was also a seventy-year-old man. Kenzie sighed, shaking her head. "Barrack and the others covered Vigaro's escape, even though it cost their lives. But all they cared about was getting back to the ship and making sure that I could go home. He was injured, though, badly. It was all he could do to raise the anchor, let the sails out and steer the Flying Flag out into the ocean, before he . ." The Phoenix's voice caught, and she muttered, "succumbed,"

No one said anything.

"I woke up the next morning to open ocean and my father figure's dead body slumped over the tiller," Captain Black snorted. "I don't know how I survived - the _Flying Flag_ was adrift for days. It was pure luck that I didn't drift into the Calm Belt and get eaten by sea monsters. But eventually the _Flag_ was shipwrecked in a cold place called Drum Island. The villagers there rescued me and helped me recover," Kenzie admitted. "But I didn't like it much. It was too cold. So I stowed away again and made my way to the biggest city in the Grand Line. A place called Water 7,"

"Wait, there's a city? In the ocean?" Pierce asked.

"That sounds like something from one of my adventure novels," Artorias frowned.

"It sounds crazy, but it's true. And Water 7 is not only the biggest city in the Grand Line, but it's also the location of the world's most famous shipwrights, and a haven for pirates all over the Grand Line," A smile tugged at the black-haired woman's lips. "The rest, as they say, is history,"

"But why didn't you just come back to Phoenix's Eye?" Grace asked, confused.

"What, and spit on old Vigaro's dying wish?" Kenzie snorted. "That old man and his crew said he would find the One Piece or die trying. I'm the last surviving member of his group. So it's my duty to carry on his dream,"

"And believe you me, I tried every trick in the book to talk her out of it," The Phoenixes turned to see Master Feng leaning against the back wall.

"Still. It'll be nice to see Magnolia again," Kenzie admitted, slightly wistful. "Have things changed much?"

"Fairy Tail got a new guild hall," the Phoenix scoffed, and her guildmate hummed thoughtfully. "Is that so?" A devilish grin spread over her face. "Think it'd stand up to cannon fire?"

"I should probably tell you that the legal ramifications of pulling a stunt like that would be severe," Feng pointed out, and Captain Black stifled a laugh. "So what? I'm a pirate!"

-[CoT]-

"Hey, Sarph?" Pierce found the knight at the prow of the ship, staring out at the ocean.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" the knight mused.

"The water? Yeah, I guess," the Tamer admitted.

"No matter what we wizards do, how many fights we win or lose, it'll always be there. It's always changing, and yet it never changes," Sarph murmured, watching the sunlight play across the surface.

Pierce nodded. "Um . . anyway,"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" the knight asked, turning to him properly.

"So, you remember what we told you about the Nexus? That weird place in Aincrad me and Grace were in?" the Tamer admitted. After the fight against Laughing Coffin was resolved, and because Prince had spilled the beans, Pierce and Grace had told their friends about their time in the Nexus.

"Of course. I still wish I could have seen it," the knight admitted wistfully. "That new Beast you tamed while there, for one thing. He is living, non-magical metal. Based on all known laws of physics, that is impossible,"

"Well, he wasn't the only thing I got out of that place," the Tamer admitted, fishing inside his jacket and bringing out the metal egg that he had found in the portal marked 'DINOSAUR KING'. Absent-mindedly, he wondered what a dinosaur was.

The Knight regarded it curiously. "That's interesting. May I?" Pierce obligingly handed it to him, and the man inspected it, turning it over in his muscled hands.

"Do you know what it is? It looks like an egg,"

"No," Sarph shook his head. "This is not alive. There are none of the signs that would denote a standard egg. If anything, it seems like some kind of contain - well, hello there," His probing fingers had depressed a hidden button, and the egg split along the jagged line that ran around its circumference. The two watched, unsure what to expect from the interior of the mysterious casket.

The two halves fell apart in Sarph's hands, depositing what looked like some kind of playing card into his palm. Pierce pulled the grey piece of cardboard from its container and inspected it. "It's like a tiny painting of . . is it a dragon?" he frowned. The picture was a profile, only showing the creature's head, but it was scaly and had a bump just above its eyes, set into a triangular muzzle as they were, and rimmed with horns.

"No dragon I've ever seen," Sarph frowned. ". . . Is that it? It's just a tiny cardboard picture?"

Pierce shrugged, turning it over. On the back he found a word printed in Earthlish, but not one that he recognised. "Sarph . . what's a 'stygimoloch'?"

Sarph frowned at it. "Stygimoloch," He turned the word around in his mouth, thinking about it. "I haven't a clue,"

"Shame," Pierce sighed. He slipped it back into the casket and clicked the two halves back together. "There's gotta be something more to it," he wondered. "Just gotta find out what to do with it,"

"I'll see if my Archive can turn up anything," his fellow Phoenix agreed.

-[CoT]-

It was a couple of weeks into their voyage when Captain Black called the crew to the main deck.

"Alright, everyone!" she hollered, making sure that everyone on the ship was paying her attention. "We're about to reach the most dangerous part of our journey!"

"And what's that?" Hare asked, feigning disinterest from where she was leaning against the mast.

"Master, the map?" the Captain requested, gesturing to Feng, who obligingly threw her map lacrima into the air, where it hovered above the deck in mid-air - and was promptly blown by the wind past Kenzie's head and into the wall of the ship's rear cabin. There was a moment of silence as the lacrima fizzled and spluttered, before projecting a hazy, flickering map of the region of the world they were currently in.

"What's up with the giant 'X'?" Grace immediately questioned.

The map displayed two thick diagonal lines, one red and one light blue, with the former above the latter, that separated it into four sections. The parts to the bottom, left and right were a darker blue, while the uppermost section was all red. In the very centre, there was a golden area that was emblazoned with ornate letters spelling 'MARY-GEOISE'.

"You want to sail through Mary-Geoise? As a pirate? Are you out of your mind?" Sarph demanded.

"What's the big deal?" Boomer frowned. Geography wasn't his strong suit.

Kenzie slid down the banister from the upper balcony and landed before the group. "Well, as you know, the world is divided into four oceans, the North, South, East and West Blues. We're currently at the easternmost area of the East Blue. Fiore is in the West Blue,"

"Right, because of the Red Line and the Grand Line," Pierce recognised.

"Exactly," Kenzie gestured at the red and light blue lines forming a cross over the map. "The Red Line and the Grand Line are the borders between the four Blues. And both of the places where they meet are crowned by major landmarks. On the far side of the planet from our current location is Reverse Mountain, one of only two locations in the world where you can safely enter the Grand Line,"

"And the one where we are?" Boomer pressed.

Kenzie gritted her teeth and gestured to the map again. "This entire area is Mary-Geois. It's the home of the World Nobles, also known as the Celestial Dragons, and the power base of the World Government,"

"It's a place where dragons live?" Grace squealed in excitement, but paused, recognising the dark look on the pirate's face. "They're not dragons. They're humans, the same as anyone else. But they're such a trumped-up aristocracy that they think they're gods . . . the sad thing is, it's not inaccurate to say that they are,"

"Humans who are gods?" Tyria asked, a strange look coming across her face.

"Not in terms of magic, but in terms of political power," Sarph clarified. "The World Government doesn't actually control the entire world. Places like Vestroia and the Alvarez Empire could certainly give them a run for their money. So could Alfheim if the nine tribes of the land could ever unite into a single power,"

"They control the Grand Line, the Red Line, and the continent of Vestal," Kenzie confirmed.

"Vestal . . that's Lync's homeland, right?" Pierce recalled, and Sarph nodded. "I'm sure you remember what he's told us about King Zenoheld?"

"The man who built the Alternative Weapons System?" Tyria gulped. If even half of the stories she'd heard about King Zenoheld were true, he was one of the most evil people in recent history.

"He was one of the Celestial Dragons," the Knight clarified.

"But they aren't important. We probably won't even see them. What's important is this," Kenzie pointed at a thin strip of azure connecting the East and West Blues, running directly along the edge of Mary-Geois. "It's an artificial canal across the Red Line, controlled by the World Government and their Marines. It's also the most direct way to get you all home,"

"We can't sail through there. We're on a pirate ship. We'll all get taken for pirates and locked up," the Knight frowned, before gesturing at Kenzie. "Rightly so, too!"

Captain Black shot him a devilish smile. "We'll be fine,"

Sarph barely knew how to respond to this.

"Everyone!" the woman looked around, catching the eyes of her crew. "It's time to go legit!"

At once, the activity on the deck intensified. The Black Eye Pirates' flag was run down the mast and collected by a pirate who dashed off below decks. Another group furled the orange sails, and the ship briefly listed as it lost propulsion. The wizards watched, amazed, as each one of the individual planks that comprised the red cabin at the stern of the ship suddenly rotated, each changing to a pale green.

"You lot mind giving us a hand?" a couple of muscles pirates asked, and Sarph and Artorias joined them at a hatch in the very prow, where they were trying to extricate a large wooden object. Together, the four managed to get out out and onto the deck, where it was revealed as a simple, but elegant mermaid figurehead. Together, the two men lifted the Phoenix head attached to the Fowl Iris' prow off a specially designed clasp and slipped it into the hole, before replacing it with the mermaid prow.

Sarph's eyes widened, witnessing the transformation. "I don't believe it," he muttered as plain white sails were hung from the mast, and a new flag was ran up to the crow's nest.

Kenzie grinned, standing next to her fellow S-Class wizard. "We are now a completely legal trading vessel in the employ of the Sindria Trading Company. And as long as no one looks too close, we'll sail through the heart of our enemies within breaking a sweat,"

On the following day, they arrived at a large stone fortress, with what looked like a gigantic wooden chimney reaching into the heavens atop it, attached like a lamprey to the side of a massive mountain range that reared up from the ocean and protruded upwards into the clouds. Kenzie, who had changed her clothes and looked quite dapper, steered the ship directly towards the lower end.

"What is that?" Grace whispered. Now that she could get a closer look, she could see that the area was a single massive pillar, enclosed on all four sides, and presumably watertight.

"It's a gigantic elevator, for ships," Artorias murmured in dawning realisation. "It must work by enclosing ships inside the bottom part, and then steadily raising the water level until they reach the top,"

"I don't like it," Captain Black admitted. "We'll be trapped until we get out at the other side," she pointed out. "If they figure us out, they just have to stop the water flow and we're sunk,"

Everyone's spirits dropped as she mentioned this. The elevator was a feat of engineering to be sure . . but it was also a prison.

The _Fowl Iris_ stopped just outside the large stone arch that led into the elevator. It was currently closed up with a wooden gate.

"Halt!" The Phoenixes looked over to see a small boat making its way towards them. It wasn't long until the inhabitant, a portly man in a respectable suit, had clambered onto the deck. "I will need to see your papers before I allow you passage,"

Kenzie, of course, had predicted this and pulled a sheaf of parchment from within her jacket. "Right here," The official took them and inspected them, squinting curiously at a few details, before nodding. "That all seems to be in order," he nodded his approval. "Very well. When the gate opens, go inside, and we'll send you up,"

The pirate nodded her thanks, and the man rappelled back to his boat, rowing away.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Grace asked,

There was a creak as the massive doors, which dwarfed the _Fowl Iris_ , started to swing open.

"Not long," Kenzie brightly replied, before shouting to her crew; "Out oars!" In minutes, the disguised ship was inside the massive elevator, and the water level started to rise. The Phoenixes looked up at the shaft of daylight, high above them. "This is going to take a while, isn't it?" Tyria realised.

"I'm going to get my book," Artorias muttered, making for the hatch.

Boomer looked around. "I wonder what kind of acoustics I could get in here?" he murmured.

-[CoT]-

The best part of an hour and two entire playlists from Boomer later, the _Fowl Iris_ finally emerged into open sunlight. The crew could see a large canal leading into the mountain peaks.

Grace peered over the other side of the ship, at the ocean far below. "We're so high up!" she exclaimed, amazed.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Kenzie grinned, before turning back to her crew. "Alright, boys! Let's not dawdle!" At once, the crew sprung into action, preparing the ship to sail down the channel towards their home.

But suddenly a voice rang out. "Halt!"

Everyone paused.

Kenzie leapt over to the edge of the ship and looked around. "Down here," The pirate promptly looked down and saw what looked like a minor dignitary in a small boat, flanked by a couple of guards, staring up at her. "I require passage to the east side of Mary-Geois. Be honoured, merchant. You have the privilege of being my transportation,"

Kenzie blinked, and her eye twitched. ". . Very well," she acquiesced. "Boys, fetch a ladder. Apparently, we have a . . guest,"

It wasn't long until the man and his two Marine guards were on board the Fowl Iris. He looked around and sniffed. "What a shabby vessel," he snorted.

Grace inched over to Kenzie and whispered; "Is he a Celestial Dragon?"

"No. He's not wearing one of their air bubbles," the captain shook his head.

"Air bubbles?" the Dragon Slayer blinked, and Kenzie sarcastically explained; "The Celestial Dragons are so much better than everyone else that they won't even breathe the same air as the rest of us,"

"A Celestial Dragon?" The man apparently had good hearing. "I can only dream. I am Herr Boggo Jacques, second manservant to Saint Jalmack. I am on a personal errand for his Lordship,"

"So he's a big deal because he's a servant?" Boomer muttered in confusion.

"I will not be delayed. Cast off at once," Jacques commanded, pointing a finger and leering at Kenzie. For her part, the pirate captain resisted the urge to protest being commanded, and nodded. "Boys, we have places to be. Let's move," And within minutes the _Fowl Iris_ was casting off once again.

It was only five minutes before Jacques, who had been eyeing Kenzie's legs with a lecherous smile from where he was reclining on a bench, called, "Oh Captain?"

Kenzie turned, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Come here, would you?"

Reluctantly, the black-haired witch moved over to him. Jacques patted the bench beside her, and Kenzie sat. "You know, you're quite the beauty," he smiled, lizard-licking his lips.

"I know," she nodded.

"Tell me. How on earth did such a ravishing young woman end up running a mere trading vessel?" Jacques asked with a simpering smile.

"Oh. I like to think there's nothing 'mere' about my ship," the Shadow witch replied.

"Every captain says that," Jacques snorted dismissively. "But I'm more interested in you, darling. You know, there are perks to being directly below the World Nobles. I have plenty of influence. I could certainly aid your career . . given proper _motivation_ ,"

Kenzie kept a tight-lipped smile on her face and resisted the urge to strangle him with his own shadow.

"You know, I don't think you ever told me your name," the manservant asked.

"Kenzie," she tautly retorted.

"Kenzie, Kenzie, Kenzie. What a beautiful name. Smooth, with just a hint of defiance. Is it short for anything?" Jacques questioned.

"No,"

"A pity. You know, actually, that name's a little familiar. I think there might be . . hmm," Kenzie watched in surprise as Jacques rooted inside his jacket, before pulling out a binder, which he flipped open.

She froze.

The binder consisted of several 'WANTED' posters with varying degrees of fading. It fell open at a double spread of "Devil Child" Nico Robin and "Big Eater" Jewelry Bonney. "Do you have lots of posters in there?" Kenzie hesitantly asked.

"Only the ones of attractive women," Jacques assured her, before half-lidding his eyes and contentedly murmuring; "Sometimes I like to stare at them and imagine encountering these beauties myself,"

Kenzie stiffened as he flipped a couple of pages, before arriving at what she had feared most; her own bounty. The page was emblazoned with her own seductive smile, and the printed words screamed at her.

 **WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE - Black "The Succubus" Kenzie - B§150,000**

"Yes, she's quite attractive. Lethal, of course. But beautiful. Still, I know that she'd likely kill me as soon as look at me, so I would much rather enjoy your . . ." Jacques trailed off as he finally wrested his eyes away from the poster and looked back at Kenzie's face. His eyes darted back and forth between the picture and its living image. "Um . ."

"Well, crap," Kenzie growled, before swinging out an arm and slamming the man's head into the wall behind them with a satisfying _thunk_.

The two Marine guards wheeled in surprise, and levelled their guns at her. "Hands in the air, now!" they commanded.

A smile tugged at Kenzie's lips. "That's cute," she snorted, grabbing the barrels of their rifles and yanking them downwards before using them to pull herself to her feet and delivered a dual uppercut that knocked them both backwards.

"I take it our cover's blown, captain?" one of her crew mates asked, and Kenzie shook her head. "Only if they get the word out!" she declared, throwing herself at the soldier to her right while her first mate clobbered the one on the left. "Good work, Lance," the pirate commended him.

Sarph appeared, and asked, "Need a hand?"

But Kenzie shook her head vigorously. "Get your lot below decks. If they get a picture of you now, they'll take you for pirates and put bounties on your heads,"

The knight blanched. "Right!" he agreed, taking off. Kenzie nodded, before spinning and seeing that Herr Boggo Jacques was picking himself up.

"I suppose that I have been a fool," the manservant murmured, glaring at her with anger in his eyes. "Kenzie Black!" he snapped, meeting the pirate's steely gaze with his own. "You will pay for your crimes! For stealing, for piracy! And, above all, for making a fool of me!"

"What horrible priorities," Lance snorted, looking at his captain. "Shall we take him?"

"No. I want to do this personally," Kenzie growled, advancing on the Marine.

Jacques scoffed. "Not as soon as I call the Marine Corps. Your heads will all roll, with one . ." He paused, patting his pocket. "Where's my Transponder Snail?"

"You mean this snail, see?" Another pirate, a scruffy woman with auburn hair and a red bandana, leered, holding up a blue snail with a phone attached to its shell. "Sorry, but he's going in my collection, see?"

"Good work, Shelley," Kenzie smiled at their crew's professional thief, before advancing in the man, who now looked frustrated.

"Fine!" Jacques spat, drawing a long, straight sword. "I'll defeat you myself! No matter how attractive you are!"

Kenzie snorted. "Well, I'll just have to get a little less so," she declared, stiffening. Lance and Shelley drew back, as did the remainder of Kenzie's crew, as, suddenly, grey fur burst from her skin. Her hands became padded and nails transformed into savage claws, as a lupine tail emerged from her jacket. Finally, her face burst forwards into a muzzle, with white fur growing under her chin, and a pair of triangular ears appeared through her hat.

Jacques blinked in shock, and stared. "You - you -"

"I ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Wolf," Kenzie declared with a smug smile. "And I'm also a master of Fiorean Shadow Maker Magic," Suddenly, her claws turned back and long blades made from shadow burst from her fingers. "Most people only practice one style of magic. Even those who learn more, rarely manage to learn types from different nations. But this is the kind of strength attained by those who are willing to do anything to get by and get ahead," she growled. "Not that someone like you would know that. You, who's had everything handed to you on a silver platter," she spat.

"Know your place, you dog!" Jacques spat, levelling the point of his sword at her. "You have no right to address me so impertinently!"

"At least I'm not the World Nobles' bitch," the pirate snorted, before charging forwards. Jacques brought up his sword in a futile attempt to block, but Kenzie wasn't trying to hit him. Instead, she simply used the sheer force of her attack to throw the offensive man straight off her ship.

"We really should have captured him, see," Shelley quietly murmured.

"No," Kenzie shook her head as she shifted back to her human form. "I could not abide having him on my ship a moment longer,"

"Still, it's just a matter of time until he raises the alarm, now," Lance pointed out, and Kenzie shrugged. "You have a point," She wheeled and bellowed at her crew; "Everyone! We're on the clock now, so let's get out of here!"

Wi that, the _Fowl Iris_ leapt forward, the rowers redoubling their efforts below decks as the wizards pitched in.

But things seemed quiet for a while. Indeed, the Black Eye Pirates made it to the far end of the channel across the Red Line an hour later without incident.

"Something's fishy, see," Shelley observed. "Why haven't we been attacked?"

"Let's not press our luck," the captain commanded as the gates swung open and the _Fowl Iris_ sailed into the other elevator, the one that would take them home to the West Blue.

Lance paused, looking around as the water level decreased and the _Fowl Iris_ descended through the shaft. "Hey. Shouldn't they have checked our papers before we entered?"

"You're right," Kenzie nodded, frowning. "Everyone, be on guard!"

Suddenly, the ship rocked. The pirate stiffened, whirling around. "What happened?"

"Cap'n, we've stopped sinking, see," Shelley reported.

"Y'now, under most circumstances I'd be happy to hear that phrase," Kenzie muttered, looking around. They were well and truly trapped. "Damnit. So this was their plan,"

Below decks, Team Pierce watched from the bottom of the stairs. "This looks like trouble," Pierce observed.

"Attention, Black Eye Pirates! You are trapped, and there is no escape! Surrender now!" a voice called down the shaft to them.

Kenzie looked around and cursed. "Seriously? I knew this would happen! I predicted this!" she roared, frustrated.

"There was no alternative, captain," Lance shrugged.

"Everyone! Prepare for a fight! We are not going down easy!" the pirate shouted.

But Sarph, below decks, had an idea. He peered through the window at the wooden wall of the shaft. "Hey, Grace?" he questioned. "Do you think you could create a spatial distortion big enough for the entire ship to pass through?"

The young Dragon Slayer joined him at the window as she shook her head. "No," The time she had redirected «The Gleam Eyes'» sword was the largest distortion she'd ever done, and moving the entire Fowl Iris would require a rift more than four times larger. There were limits to her abilities. "But," she murmured, realising where Sarph was going with this. "I _could_ blast a hole in the side of the shaft large enough for the ship to pass through,"

Nodding, the knight dashed back to the stairwell and shouted, "Hey! Captain Black! Do you think the ship would survive a fall from this height to sea level?"

"Probably. It's only about a hundred and fifty feet. Why do you ask?" the captain hollered back without looking at them. She, along with her crew, was staring upwards, where several Marines were rappelling downwards from the top of the shaft with long ropes.

"Grace, go for it," Sarph commanded.

Nodding, Grace dashed through the corridor and to the middle of the ship, finding a large, convenient porthole. She swung it open and stuck her head out, finding herself just above the water level, and drew breath. "Reality Dragon's," she hissed through clenched teeth, sucking in as much as she could, before letting it all out in one massive, wide-spread burst. "ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

A cyclone of grey energy carved a furrow into the water, erupting outwards and shredding the wooden wall that trapped them. In seconds there was a massive chunk missing from the side of the elevator, and as splinters rained on the crew above decks, the water around the ship started to shift.

The Black Eye Pirates went wide-eyed at the display of power. "What the heck? Is that what Fiorean magic can do? Captain, have you been holding out on me?" Lance demanded.

"Don't be stupid," Kenzie retorted, but noticed something; the hole was getting bigger. Or closer. A cursory glance at the water beneath them told her everything she needed to know. "Everyone! Get below decks and hold on tight!" she commanded, dashing up the stairs to the rear wheelhouse and grabbing the tiller. Lance and Shelley quickly joined her, while the rest of her crew dashed below.

There was an almighty roar as the pirate pulled the glass doors shut and slapped the clasp, and the water dragged the ship with it towards the gap.

And then the world fell away as the _Fowl Iris_ plunged down the impromptu waterfall, tilting forwards and dropping like a stone towards the ocean below. Kenzie and Shelley screamed. Lance yelled in defiance (no he did not scream, it was a _yell of defiance_ ) as the ocean far below rushed up before them.

There was a thunderous boom as the ship made contact with the water, sending a massive wave in all directions that washed against the guard house behind them.

As the creaking galleon settled, Kenzie was first to recover, swinging the wet doors open and carefully striding across the drenched outdoor deck. "What are you waiting for?" she hollered below decks, addressing her crew. "We're sitting ducks out here! Get moving!"

Within minutes, by the time the Marines had even worked out what had happened, no less, the sails were spread and the Fowl Iris was leaving an arrowhead-shaped wake as it cruised away from the Red Line and towards Phoenix's Eye.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Okay, wow. When I was storyboarding, this chapter had three things I wanted to include; 1: Kenzie's backstory. 2: Passing Mary-Geoise. 3: Give Kenzie a chance to show off.**

 **I thought that would take a lot less words than it did. Eh, I'm sure no one's complaining about an extra-long chapter.**

 **Also, did anyone spot the Easter egg? If you did, tell me in a review. Peace!**


	18. Welcome Back To Phoenix's Eye!

Chapter 88: Welcome Back To Phoenix's Eye!

The _Fowl Iris - finally!_ \- pulled into the port of Magnolia, and every member of the guild was gathered on the deck, watching their home approach.

"It's been six years," Pierce reminded everyone.

"Plenty of time for Alvarez to destroy my home," Tyria murmured, to which Pierce wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Hey. At least they don't have the Compendium," he assured her.

"Hopefully not, anyway,"

"Our house is going to be so full of dust," Kit moaned from where he was perched on the ship's railing.

"That won't be a problem. I can just -" Grace started, but her brother interrupted. "No. My rule about no Dragon Slayer magic in the house isn't going to change just because it's not X785 anymore,"

"Fine," the younger Phoenix sulked.

"I wonder how everyone's been?" Sarph mused. "A lot can happen in seven years,"

"I hope Ariel's alright," Eve murmured.

"I'm sure that everything's been fine in our absence," Master Feng assured them as the ship docked at a bay. The Black Eye Pirates sprung into action, tethering the _Fowl Iris_ to the dock.

"Come on, what are you all waiting for?" Grace shouted, and the Phoenixes looked down in surprise to find that she was already on the jetty, no doubt having used her Spatial magic to teleport.

"So, that's how it's gonna be, is it?" Pierce grinned. "Everyone! Race you to the Guild Hall!" he yelled, before clapping his hands and invoking, "Take Over: Phoenix Soul!" With a flash of fire, the Tamer was airborne.

"Oi! What about me?" Kit shouted after him.

"I'll take you. TechType: Jetpack!" Tyria invoked, scooping the spectral fox up and pursuing her boyfriend with her fan pack.

"You punks aren't showing me up!" Hare retorted, throwing herself over the side and blurring away as soon as she hit the ground.

"They're all so hasty," Artorias muttered.

"That shouldn't be a reason not to join in," Donna cajoled him with a smile, following in Hare's wake as Grace teleported to catch up.

Sarph nodded, before looking around. "Wait, where's Boomer?"

There was a flash of light from the dock, and Donna skidded to a halt as a bulky, three-wheeled white magicmobile, bristling with speakers, appeared out of nowhere in front of her. "Later, losers!" Boomer shouted, engine throbbing and speakers primed as his car took off.

"Not on my watch!" Sarph shouted, manifesting his Aera wings and giving chase.

-[CoT]-

There it was, Pierce smiled as he landed at the base of the hill, his Take Over reverting. Grace and Hare drew up behind him, Tyria and Boomer joining moments afterwards. As Tyria let Kit down, the yokai grew a mischievous smirk. Sarph landed a moment later, looming over the rest of the group.

Almost reverentially, they walked together up the path towards the double doors.

"It's good to be home," Pierce grinned, looking around at his friends. "Right, everyone?"

"Right, Pierce!" Kit, suddenly appearing on his shoulder, shouted in his ear. Pierce flinched in surprise and span away, dropping the yokai in the process. "Cut it out, Kit! I thought you were over this!" he complained. Everyone else just laughed. "Classic," Boomer weighed in.

The group paused, reaching the doors. They could hear the chatter of people within. Pierce took a deep breath, and pushed the entrance open.

The hall fell silent as they walked in and looked around. It took a few seconds for the patrons to process the new arrivals.

"They're back!" Sarah shouted from the bar, elated.

"Guys!" Lync greeted them, waving.

"Ah'm glad to see y'all," Garrotte greeted the group.

Looking around, the Phoenix's Eye guild hall hadn't changed a lot. The tables and chairs and couches and bar were all still there, the job board was still present at the rear of the guild, the second floor was still open and bearing the S-Class job board, the nearby door still led into the Master's quarters. But their home seemed to have become more . . empty in their absence. Previously, it wouldn't have been uncommon to see as many as forty people around the guild on any given day. Now, though? There were barely ten patrons present.

Hesitantly, Pierce moved towards the bar and took a seat. "What happened?" he asked.

Sarah eyed him curiously. "What do you mean, what happened? If anything, we should be asking you lot that question," she declared.

"When we left, Phoenix's Eye was so vibrant and bursting with life," Pierce clarified, before looking around. "Now it's . . . this," he gestured at the few who were present.

The bartender blinked, before looking around the guild again. "You have a point," she admitted. "I guess things were more lively seven years ago,"

"Over here!" a familiar voice shouted, and the new arrivals' attention turned to -

"Totomaru?" Tyria gasped.

"Totomaru!" Hare squealed, Speeding over to the fire wizard and hugging him.

"Jeez - get off me!" he shouted, shoving her away.

Totomaru looked . . older. His white/black hair was now parted evenly, white on the right, black on the left, and tied into a topknot. His old red coat had been discarded, replaced with more modest robes that actually weren't dissimilar to Master Feng's.

"Lync and the rest of the 'advance group' filled us in with what happened to the lot of you in Diamauros," he explained. "So no need for recaps on your end,"

"Actually, we kind of got into another adventure or two on the way home . ." Tyria trailed off. Totomaru was nonplussed. "Well, it can wait. Because ever since you lot disappeared, Phoenix's Eye has been stuck in a rut,"

Footsteps echoed behind them, and Master Feng pushed through the group. Most of the rest of the group trailed behind her, and Pierce was a little surprised - but not too much - to see Captain Kenzie Black among them. "What do you mean, a rut?" she demanded.

"She means that no one knows us anymore," an unfamiliar teenager put forward, sidling over from her own table. The Phoenixes eyed her curiously; dark blue hair clashed with an aquamarine skirt and matching leggings, complimenting a white undershirt with a black coat over it. "Um, not to be rude, but who are you?" Tyria asked.

"I joined the guild a few years ago, after you all vanished. My name's Ariel Nagato," the girl introduced herself. As she did, Pierce frowned a little. He had the strangest sensation of déjà vu. But, after a moment, he couldn't place it, and he shrugged.

"Anyway. I've looked through the records, and I think I know what's going on. Guild membership is at an all-time low. Not counting all of you, we're down to maybe fifteen members? But more than that . . ." Ariel sighed. "People just stopped caring about us. We never make the papers anymore, we never do anything notable. These days, Phoenix's Eye is . . just another guild,"

Feng' eyebrow twitched. She slowly mouthed the words 'just another guild' in mounting fury. "Who took over as Guild Master in my absence?" she crossly demanded.

"That would be me. In a manner of speaking, anyway," The group looked over to see Russell, the aged Paper Wizard smiling wearily at the newcomers. The black-haired man was now was dressed in a somewhat dirtied brown robe with black leggings. "And can I just say, Master, I am so glad that you're back,"

"How could you let this happen?" Feng crossly demanded. "We are Phoenix's Eye! Do you remember what the four tenants of being a Phoenix's Eye wizard are?"

"Go above and beyond in everything you do. Don't allow anyone to do the wrong thing. Stick to your principles above all else. And never let anybody forget your name," Russell recited.

"And yet you let everyone forget ours," Feng tutted.

"It's not that simple, Master. You weren't here," Russell retorted with an accusatory tone. "Bills don't pay themselves, and with the membership a fifth of what it used to be, it's a wonder we haven't gone bankrupt,"

"About that," Sarph interjected. "How _have_ you been paying the bills?" he asked. "I can't imagine the guild is making much money,"

"Faraday," the man simply retorted.

"What about her?" the knight checked, thinking of the reclusive SS-Class wizard. Many thought that Faraday was the strongest wizard in Phoenix's Eye, and she was as mysterious as her magic was strong. There was a joke running around that the only reason Faraday wasn't considered a Wizard Saint was that becoming one would necessitate revealing personal details to the Magic Council . . and though it was said in jest, most of the guild secretly thought it was true.

"Every time the guild had a bill we couldn't pay, she was there. She's handed out millions of jewels for us without hesitating. If she wasn't here, Phoenix's Eye would have been shot down by debtors years ago," Russell admitted.

"Convenient," Sarph observed, impressed.

"Yeah. Guess we should all thank Faraday," Boomer agreed.

"Assuming any of us ever see her," the Guild Master mused. Pierce nodded in agreement - he had seen Faraday about four times in his entire life.

"But still, this will not stand," Feng declared. "We are going to reclaim our prestige, no matter how long or hard the road may be!" she hotly shouted to the guild.

"Well, there is one surefire way to manage that," Sarah volunteered, and Feng whirled, looking at her. "Explain,"

"While you were all, uh, gone," the bartender diplomatically put it, "the King instituted a new annual tradition. He calls it the Grand Magic Games. Every year, all the guilds in Fiore have the opportunity to get together in Crocus and enter a five-person team into the Games. The teams fight it out, and eventually one is crowned the winner. And whichever guild wins is considered the strongest guild in all Fiore,"

The Master cocked an eyebrow. "The strongest guild in Fiore, eh? I like the sound of that. When are these Grand Magic Games?"

"July. Four months away. Though . . this might be a bad idea," Totomaru warned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tyria asked.

"We've entered the Grand Magic Games before," Russell explained. "Well, not me. There's a rule against Guild Masters entering,"

"And? How did we do?" Feng pressed.

"Our newfound reputation for being mediocre came from somewhere," Totomaru sighed.

The Master blinked, processing this. "Call everyone in the guild. Tomorrow at ten am _sharp_ , we are having a meeting. And I mean everyone. That includes all of your crew, Kenzie," The pirate captain nodded in understanding. "And dig Astro out of his bunker while you're at it. All this," she gestured at the lacklustre state of her guild, "ends _now_. Dismissed!" she snapped.

Pierce looked around and shivered. "Hey, Grace? Let's go home," he suggested. Being in Phoenix's Eye when it was so . . _quiet_ disturbed him. And, well, he had to go see how his house was doing sooner or later.

"Sure," the Dragon Slayer agreed, and the two hastily left.

Feng quietly pulled Russell aside. "Astro's still around, isn't he? He didn't die of old age while we weren't looking?"

"No. But you should tell Boomer to go see him. You know how close they were, losing Boomer took its toll on him," Russell responded. "Also, will you be taking back the position of Guild Master? Because you can have it. You've seen how things have been going under my leadership,"

Feng frowned thoughtfully. After a few moments, she replied; "Didn't you say that these Games have a rule against Guild Masters entering as participants?"

-[CoT]-

As Pierce and Grace approached their house, they saw a familiar face approaching them in the street. "Hey! Lucy!" the Tamer grinned, seeing his neighbour approach.

Then he paused. It had been six years. Shouldn't Lucy look . . older? And who was that other woman trailing behind her?

For her part, Lucy Heartfilia stopped dead. ". . . Pierce?" she spluttered, before pelting down the street towards him. The lady with her cautiously followed.

Pierce and Grace approached, until the two parties met outside their houses. "Wow. Seven years and you still look like a teenager. You're good with make-up," Pierce offered with a smile.

Grace flinched as Lucy slapped him. "I am still a teenager, you dumbass!" she roared, before pausing. "But you clean up nice yourself. Where have you been for the last month? Everyone said that you and a bunch of others from Phoenix's Eye vanished at around the same time we all got stuck on Tenroe Island,"

Pierce blinked. "Hold on. Stuck on Tenroe Island? Did something happen while we were time travelling?"

Lucy blinked. "Time travel . . okay, let's start at the beginning. During Fairy Tail's S-Class Trials in X785, we were attacked by Acnologia. Mavis, my guild's First Master, came back from the dead and cast Fairy Shield, an ultimate protection spell, that froze us in time for six years. We only got out a month ago,"

"Acnologia?" Grace interrupted. "The big evil dragon?"

"That's the one. Okay, your turn," Lucy gestured at the two Phoenixes.

"During Phoenix's Eye's S-Class Trials, also in X785, we were attacked by a dark guild called Kairos End. They were trying to steal a treasure that our guild's been protecting called the Sempiternal Phoenix, which is an artefact that allows a person or persons to travel anywhere in space and time that they want. During the fight, Kairos End's Guild Master, Eternity, activated the Sempiternal Phoenix and accidentally banished us all to the void outside space and time. We all banded together to get back into conventional space-time, but because the Sempiternal Phoenix was damaged, we couldn't be very precise, so we ended up six years off and on the other side of the world. And it's taken us the best part of two months to sail back to Fiore. We only arrived today,"

Lucy nodded, processing this. "Your guild has a time machine?" she asked in surprise.

"Well, not anymore. It was destroyed in the crash-landing," the Phoenix clarified.

"Oh," The Fairy looked downcast, and Pierce frowned. "What's wrong?"

Suddenly, the other woman, who'd been standing behind her the whole time, stepped past her and took Pierce's arm. "Her father died. Just a month before Fairy Shield released her," the other blonde informed him.

The boy nodded. Now it made sense; he'd mentioned 'time machine' and Lucy had thought about going back in time to see her father before he died. "Oh . . I'm sorry," he offered.

"No, it's alright," Lucy sighed. "Speaking of family, I should introduce you . . This is Michelle Lobster. She's a distant relative of mine who worked with my father before . . well . . she's staying with me,"

Grace beamed up at the newcomer. "It's nice to meet you," she grinned, before pausing and sniffing. "You smell like plants,"

Michelle blinked. "Um . . it's probably just my cologne," she admitted, uncertain of how to respond to this.

"Well, we gotta see how our house is looking. It was nice catching up," Pierce grinned, making for the door.

"Same to you," Lucy agreed, turning and going back in the direction she came. Michelle followed. "I thought you were going to work on your novel?" Michelle questioned.

"That can wait. Our guild needs to know that Phoenix's Eye is back too," Lucy retorted.

As they left, Pierce fumbled with his keys, before finally getting it in. "It's stuck," he grumbled.

"Allow me," Grace declared, and vanished. The lock clicked from inside, and Grace yanked the door open. "It's stiff," she observed.

"Good thing you're strong," Pierce smiled at her, before looking around the single, large, empty atrium that comprised the ground floor of the house. The floor was coated in dust, but everything else was just as they remembered it.

Grace tripped the light switch. The lights overhead flickered, before shattering with a shower of sparks. "I guess we'll need to replace the bulbs," Pierce observed. As he crossed the room, making for the stairs that led to the living quarters on the upper floor, he left footprints in the grey layer underfoot.

"Think Sarah will lend us a mop?" the younger Phoenix asked, eyeing the grit that had collected in the carpet on the stairs.

"And a lac-room cleaner," Pierce agreed, emerging into the living room. Things were more-or-less as he remembered; the same red couch, the same faded green armchair, the same shelves, the same grandfather clock, even the same rug that had once been red but was now a ghostly pink. All covered in a heaping layer of dust.

Pierce frowned at the rug in particular. It looked as though rodents had gotten at it. He sighed, realising that it would need to be replaced.

Grace had vanished into the attic that she had made her bedroom during X784, and Pierce peered into the kitchenette. He wrinkled his nose; most of the stored food had obviously expired. Reaching under the sink, he produced a garbage bag and swung open a cupboard.

A rat shrieked at him.

The Tamer sighed. This place was going to be a pain to clean up.

For her part, Grace was crouched in the attic, clutching the plush dragon that Pierce had given her for their first Christmas together in dismay. Time had taken a toll; it was almost disintegrating in her hands. Her cot, once laid with pillows, wasn't much better.

She pushed open the skylight and climbed onto the roof, correctly reasoning it would be the only place in the house that wasn't covered in dust. Thank goodness for exposure to the elements. Looking around, Grace took in the familiar skyline of Magnolia. "It's been so long," she murmured. "So much has changed,"

She heard a window open below her and looked down, finding her brother hanging out of the window with the sheets from his bed. Pierce beat the blanket outside, and dust billowed out in a massive cloud.

The young girl watched as he proceeded to do the same with the rest of his bed, before climbing back indoors as the dust began to waft over the roof. "But I'm sure we'll get through it," she grinned to herself.

Both siblings paused as the Sonic Boom pulled up outside, the waterfront pavement barely wide enough for the three-wheeled vehicle, and watched as Boomer emerged, making for the door.

It was only a minute before Pierce was at the door to let him in. "Hey, what's up?" the Tamer asked his old friend.

"Someone robbed me," Boomer groused. "Everything's gone. Even my garage!"

Grace appeared next to them. "Someone stole your garage?" she asked in disbelief.

"No. It collapsed. The weather must have eroded the foundations or something," the Sound Wizard grumbled. "Is it alright if I stay with you two for a couple of nights? Just until I can find a new place to live?"

"Of course," Pierce assured him.

"Everything was gone?" Grace asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah. Including all my savings, all my music, and . . Regykraeon's book," Boomer admitted.

"Regykraeon?" the Tamer asked in concern, remembering the Air Demon that they had fought in Ghoulia.

"But I thought he died," Grace frowned.

"He did," Boomer confirmed. "But the book's still a powerful dark magic artefact, even with the demon dead. Knowing that it's out there somewhere worries me,"

"Well, if it ever resurfaces, we'll deal with it. So don't worry about it," Pierce assured him.

-[CoT]-

"Well, welcome home," Artorias spoke, swinging open the door to his little house in the suburbs. Sif looked around inquisitively, sniffing in partial disdain.

"Yes, you heard me. This is our home, girl. You wanted this, after all," Artorias pointed out, before inspecting the dusty table. "Although, we might need to clean up a bit," The wolf growled in approval.

-[CoT]-

"I see things haven't really changed in sixty-three years. New hall, new faces, but it's the same old guild," Donna offered. She and Master Feng were reclining in the master's quarters.

"I was stockpiling for some renovations. But it seems that my savings have been expended . . we shall just have to wait until after these Games," Feng admitted.

"It just feels so surreal . ." Donna trailed off. "I _died_. I remember the coldness as the blade cut my heart open. And now I'm here . . alive,"

"Don't worry about it. You're here, and you're part of the guild again. Just think of it as a do-over," her old friend suggested. "It's just a shame that I didn't know what Lycurgus was doing, or what he'd done to you. Or I would have intervened decades ago,"

"Speaking of that . . how long will it be until people discover my past with Kairos End?" the Celestial Wizard asked, a flicker of concern crossing her countenance.

"I've already filed the paperwork to clear your charges. I'll sort out everything, don't you worry," Feng assured her. "But first," She pulled open a drawer, and produced a magical stamp with a Lacrima set into the hilt.

Donna saw the stamp and smiled. "This again, eh?" she asked.

"Where would you like it?" Feng questioned, and the anachronism pulled the sleeve down on her left shoulder, exposed by the open blue hem of her «Skyborne Swarths'» white sleeve. "Where else?"

Carefully, Feng placed the stamp on her skin, before withdrawing it. "It feels good," Donna offered.

Now printed on her exposed skin, in sky blue, was the Phoenix's Eye guild mark.

"Welcome back, old friend,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Great. Donna is officially a member of Phoenix's Eye. It's time to devote a couple of chapters to everyone just settling in, before we get into the Key of the Starry Heavens arc.**

 **Also, let's welcome Ariel Nagato, a completely new character who joined the guild during the timeskip. We are totally unfamiliar with her and certainly have never seen her before.**

 **Peace!**

-[CoT]-

"They've all forgotten me," Ariel Nagato sighed to herself, looking uncharacteristically morose. "I know it had to be done, and we can make new memories, but . ." She blinked back tears, thinking of the times she'd spent with Eve and Blanca. Times they'd never remember. ". . that doesn't make it any easier," the bluenette finished in a small voice. Ariel sighed again, looking around at the front desk of the Phoenix's Eye guild dorms. A desk that she'd been inhabiting for as long as the building existed. "I suppose there's always the Nest,"


	19. We've Got A Problem

Chapter 89: We've Got A Problem

"Everyone, shut the hell up!" Master Feng roared.

It actually worked this time, perhaps due to the reduced population of the guild. Contrary to the several dozen that would have been present six years ago, there were barely forty people in the hall - and almost half of that was Captain Black's crew. Even Astro had been coaxed out of his bunker.

"Now, as you can all see, this guild is in a rut," Feng declared. "And I won't stand for it! We're Phoenix's Eye! We never let anyone forget our name! And if they have, we make them remember!" she shouted.

"Yeah!" many of the assembled members cheered.

"So I hear that there's a big event happening in three months or so. It's called the Grand Magic Games!" Feng exclaimed. "It's a tournament conducted between wizard guilds, and whichever guild can win is considered the strongest guild in Fiore! Does that sound good to all of you?!"

"True that!" Pierce hollered, amidst other cries of approval.

"More than that, this tournament has prizes. I hear anyone who places in the top eight gets some monetary reward, but the guild that gets the top spot wins thirty million jewels! If we can get that cash, we'll finally be able to renovate the guild hall! Then Fairy Tail won't be able to show us up with that massive palace of theirs anymore! Who here wants that?!" Feng continued.

Again, the hall roared with approval.

"Well, what are you waiting for? We're allowed to put five wizards and one reserve member into the ring during the tournament. Which means that the six strongest members of Phoenix's Eye will represent us in four months. If you want to put your name on that list, get out there and train your butts off! We're gonna set the sky on fire and bring it crashing down on their heads! So let's get out there and do this!" the guild master commanded.

The members of the guild looked among each other with fierce smiles. They were all allies . . but they knew everyone would be vying for one of those six spots in the Games.

"Well!" Captain Kenzie Black stood up, grinning at her guildmates and crewmates alike. "I was going to sail back to the Grand Line, but hey, the One Piece isn't going anywhere! Probably, anyway. So I say we Black Eye Pirates stay here for a couple of months and help out our mother guild. You all in?"

"Whatever you say, captain!" the pirates cheered.

"I'm glad you agree! Now, let's get out there and train! Mark my words, my friends, I will be one of our representatives!" the pirate captain declared, leading her crew out of the guild, probably back to their ship.

"Well, we can't just let the noob show us up, right everyone?" Pierce challenged.

"Don't worry," Tyria grinned. "I know exactly what I have to do to put my skills over the edge. But . ." her face fell.

"You need to go back to Electria," Pierce guessed, looking at his girlfriend.

"Yes, I do," the Electrian girl confirmed. "I need to know how my friends at the College are doing. And besides, I'm certain that there's more to TechType magic than I currently know. If I'm going to get stronger, I need my teacher's help," she admitted, thinking of Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria.

"I understand," Pierce assured her, and Tyria smiled at him. "Thanks. I suppose I should . . go get ready to leave,"

"Take all the time you need," the Tamer grinned. "Okay, everyone else?"

Kinana nervously raised a hand, and Pierce paused, looking at the purplette. "What is it?"

"Um . . I thought you said we were going to visit Erik in prison today?" she asked, pursing her lips.

The Tamer blinked. Crap, right, he had. But he'd forgotten in the heat of the moment. "Oh. Well, sure. Alright, everyone. I'm going to take Kinana to the Magic Council Jail to see our old friend. You all get started with your training!"

"No complaint," Sarph agreed, drawing «Tenshi Meiyo» and eyeing the gleam of the black sword in the light. "These «Sword Skills» . . it's an entirely new power for me to tap. But I get the feeling that I'm going to need them for these Games,"

"You aren't the only one with new tricks," Hare snorted, before raising an arm. "Fu jan!" she snapped, and an orb of Alfheimic Wind Magic hit the wall. "There's no point in hiding it anymore, so I might as well take full advantage of my heritage,"

"I can see I'm going to have to step up my game," Boomer observed. He grinned. "Hey, Astro! We need to talk!"

Grace frowned, remembering what she had achieved in the Nexus. "And I need to learn to master Dragon Force. We need every advantage,"

Pierce nodded as he led Kinana away from the table. "Good luck," he smiled at his friends.

-[CoT]-

"I'm sorry for pulling you away from your training," Kinana nervously offered as they boarded the train.

Pierce shrugged, his typical easygoing smile plastered over his face. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's almost four months 'till the Games, I'm sure we can afford to devote a few measly hours to something important like this,"

Kinana grinned back at him. "I'm glad you think so,"

-[CoT]-

Soon, Grace was standing on top of a building's roof. "My ability to bend space has almost limitless applications," she muttered to herself, remembering how she had deflected the sword of «The Gleam Eyes» during the fight against Prince in Alfheim. "I've barely been using my powers at all. But that changes now!" Eyeing the uneven and mismatched stretches of roof ahead of her, Grace took off in a sprint. Upon reaching the edge of the building, she ran straight off it at full tilt, bending reality around her so that the roof of the building across the road was directly adjacent. As soon as she crossed over the divide, she let space snap back to its normal orientation, leaving her running on the other roof.

"But I have to get even faster," the Dragon Slayer resolved, remembering her new trick for running on air. She threw herself into the sky, and, throwing one leg out, bent space so that a tiny patch of the ground beneath was right under her foot. Kicking off this bent section of sidewalk, she repeated the trick, focusing on every footstep to run through the air above Magnolia.

Huffing and puffing, she landed on the roof of Kardia Cathedral, and lay back against the aged tiles. Man . . running on air was awesome, but when she had to cast a spell for every footfall, it really took a toll on her. Physically, if not magically - Grace had so much magic power pent-up inside her body that, if not for the control Lacrima implanted in her stomach, it would kill her.

"There you are!" someone suddenly shrilly shrieked. Grace started, looking around. "Who said that?"

"Where the hell have you been?" a small, green/blue shape appeared in front of her. Grace blinked and focused, realising that it was a falcon with blue wings tipped with black and a green underbelly. Her body was spectral, and if Grace focused she could see straight through it. "Quarla?" she recognised the yokai in surprise.

"Honestly. First you go to that weird Diamauros place. Which apparently doesn't exist, by the way. When I finally figured out where it was and went looking for you, there was nothing but a big crater. And now it's six years later and I find you running above town like nothing happened? Where have you been?" the yokai demanded.

"Um . . we kind of ended up time travelling," Grace explained.

"Well, it's very inconsiderate of you to do something like that without even telling me!" Quarla snapped.

"It wasn't exactly . . planned," the young girl muttered, but her protest was drowned out amidst Quarla's torrent. "Honestly, I go to all the trouble of taking care of you and keeping you alive, which has hardly been easy at times, may I say, and you go and do something like this? You're lucky you didn't blow yourself up! Again!"

". . Sorry," Grace meekly offered.

The falcon huffed, before perching on top of her head. "Well, whatever. I suppose six years isn't that long. To a yokai, at any rate,"

"Aren't you, like, five hundred?" the greenette checked.

"My point precisely. And I am not! I'm four hundred and sixty-two,"

Grace sweat-dropped. "You get how that's not a big difference, right?"

"What- _ever_ ," Quarla sniffed. "Now, I see that you're training. Is there a particular reason, or are you just getting stronger?"

"There's going to be a big event in four months, called the Grand Magic Games. And I want to enter. So if Phoenix's Eye is going to win the games, I have to be the best I can be!" she explained, a smile tugging at her lips.

Quarla considered this. "Well, if that's the case . . I might have some ideas,"

-[CoT]-

"What do you mean, he's not here?" Pierce questioned.

"The dark wizard known as Cobra, along with his guildmates Angel, Racer, Midnight, Canceller and Mylene all broke out of prison a couple of months ago," the receptionist at the prison dully informed him. "Along with a man named Eregor," she added.

"He's gone?" Kinana blinked, concerned.

"Oh dear," Pierce gulped. "Is there any knowledge as to his current whereabouts?" he pressed.

"None. Though I am curious as to why you're so interested," the receptionist raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"He's a friend of mine. At least, I thought he was," Pierce grumbled, frowning thoughtfully. "Is Lahar here? Can I speak to him?" he questioned.

"Lahar?" The receptionist seemed surprised that he knew the name. "Um, no, no he's not. He's currently out investigating suspicious activity that the Magic Council fears is being conducted by the Church of Zentopia,"

"The church, huh?" the Phoenix muttered thoughtfully. "Alright . . well, could you send him a message, please?" he requested.

The receptionist seemed surprised, but nodded, grabbing a piece of paper. "Sure, but Lahar is a very busy man. I can't promise that he'll have the time to respond,"

"I'm sure he will. Just tell him that Pierce Blastreyne is back and wants to see him sometime," the blond explained. "Okay, Kinana, I guess we shouldn't stay," he shrugged helplessly at his friend, who nodded mutely, and allowed him to lead her out.

"He wasn't there," Kinana muttered.

"Yeah. That worries me too," Pierce admitted, pursing his lips in thought. "He broke out of prison, with his old guildmates . . I really hope they aren't doing something that they'll regret," he gulped, remembering the fiasco with Nirvana in the Worth Woodsea.

"I hope everything will turn out alright," the girl admitted, before yawning. "I feel kind of sleepy. I think I'll take a nap on the train,"

-[CoT]-

"How unsophisticated," a woman with silver hair, wearing a feathery white frock, muttered.

"Maybe so," her colleague, a man with dark red hair and a white cape over a blue tunic with yellow hem. "but our job here is done. What about the Anti-Link?"

"That's been done as well," the former assured her teammate in the same smooth, placid tones. "Ah, Cobra, always so cold and direct. But those are the two things I admire most about you,"

Cobra stared forwards remorselessly. A scar was over his left eye, which refused to open. He pursed his lips, and allowed himself to think of what was . . so long ago. "She's all I cared about. But she's gone. Pulled from my hands, and all I have now is nothing,"

Angel smiled a smile that was both serene and poisonous. "Nothing but delicious power, that is,"

"Power from misery. The sorrow that consumes my soul is the only thing driving me forward. The pain can only end when the world itself ends. There is no other way," he spat, clenching a fist.

"Yes. We must take ours from wherever we can until our ultimate goal has been reached," Angel agreed, looking away. "Pains and regrets; all those years of suffering we've endured," She turned and looked back at Cobra. "Those are the things that define the Neo-Oracion Och,"

Around them, the crumbling remains of a church burned.

-[CoT]-

Kinana, who had sat down with Pierce, Sarph, Tyria and Lync for lunch, suddenly stiffened and took in a sharp breath of air.

The others looked at her in concern as she screwed her eyes shut tight. Suddenly, her posture relaxed and her eyelids slid open, revealing that her pupils had become slitted and reptilian. Without hesitation, she picked up her fork and began stabbing at the table with it. "Power from misery. The sorrow that consumes my soul is the only thing driving me forward," Kinana droned in an emotionless voice.

"What the -" Tyria started in concern.

"Kinana?" Pierce questioned,

"The pain can only end when the world itself ends. There is no other way," she finished, still chipping away at the table with the work.

"Get Alice," Pierce commanded Lync, who nodded and left the table.

Tyria, who was sitting next to her, watched her hand stab at the table with the fork. She reached over and tried to use her palm to block the implement - "Ouch!" she shrieked, hastily withdrawing her hand. Without even realising it, Kinana had stabbed the fork straight into her hand, deep enough to draw blood.

Alice appeared, Lynn in tow, and, with Amaterasu Formulas spinning around her hands, she scanned Kinana, even as she repeated the ominous words. "Power from misery,"

Much of the guild was gathered around at this point, watching the strange fit that had overcome the girl. "What's going on with her?" Boomer questioned.

"My scans aren't coming up with anything!" Alice wailed, even as she droned again, "The sorrow that consumes my soul is the only thing driving me forward,"

"I think something's talking through her," Pierce frowned.

"The pain can only end when the world itself ends," she added, chipping at the wood.

"You think she's possessed? Like by a yokai?" the orangette guessed. "No, I would have been able to detect that,"

"There is no other way," Kinana finished, before moaning and collapsing backwards. Alice caught her, wrapping her arms around her chest, and settled her back into the chair before her weight caused it to topple over.

"I guess it's over," Sarph observed, already opening Archive screens and trying to determine the cause of this phenomena.

"Guys . . look at what she wrote," Tyria whispered, gesturing to the table, and everyone saw what the cursed girl had been etching into the wood. At once, they all went silent.

Kinana' fingers slackened, and the fork fell through them, hitting the ground with a wavering note that, for a moment, was the only thing that could be heard.

Etched with crude letters, cracking the paint and burrowing into the wood, were seven words; 'TIME TICKS FORWARD, ON TOWARDS INEVITABLE CHAOS'.

Donna stiffened, immediately recognising the phrase. "That's what Clockwork said . . right before he killed Lycurgus,"

-[CoT]-

"Are you sure that baiting Phoenix's Eye like this is a good idea?" a purple hybrid of a bear and a slot machine skeptically questioned.

"You've been told the plan, Klodoa," an effeminate man with black/white hair huffed. "Or should I call you Jackpot? . . Either way. You know that if our endeavour is to be completely successful, we don't only need the Infinity Clock. We also need to _completely annihilate_ Phoenix's Eye,"

"Whatever you say, Brain the Second," Jackpot accepted.

"Oh, also?" Brain II quirked an eyebrow. "Whatever you do, don't let Cobra know that that Pierce boy is still alive. At least, not until he's dead again. If he discovers that his pet isn't dead after all, he might defect,"

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of doing any less," the animate object agreed.

Brain II smiled to himself. "You won't win this time around. _Fairy Tail_ ,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Okay, so I'm sure that everyone (well, some people . . anyone?) noticed that I changed the part where Kinana carves a message in Ancient Poto-whatever about Will Neville being a Celestial Wizard.**

 **That's because it makes no sense. We are never given an explanation as to how Kinana knows what's going on, beyond some vague implication of a link she shares with Cobra/Erik that somehow enables her to know all this random trivia (which, might I add, it is never even confirmed that Cobra himself knows), as well as how to write it all out with a plastic fork of all things in a language that she doesn't speak.**

 **Besides, it doesn't achieve anything beyond giving the audience some exposition, and cutting it out doesn't affect how Fairy Tail reacts to the threat of the Neo-Oracion Seis. Lahar and Doranbolt are the ones who act on this information, and they get it from a different source anyway. And besides, Fairy Tail can get all the information from Jean-Luc Neville anyway. Overall, it's a really badly handled and unnecessary scene in what's otherwise a really interesting arc of the story. And I have standards to maintain - frankly, I still feel like the version of the scene I put in is tricky enough as it is. But at least this version will have an explanation, and it serves the plot. Donna now knows something's up, Kinana's in hot water, and everyone else knows that time has ticked.**

 **Also, obligatory reminder about the Chapter 100 Q/A! Please send questions! I need questions!**

 **Peace.**


	20. Time Ticks Forward - So Do Giant Robots

Chapter 90: Time Ticks Forward - So Do Giant Robots

 ** _Previously on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _"My scans aren't coming up with anything!" Alice wailed, even as Kinana droned again, "The sorrow that consumes my soul is the only thing driving me forward,"_

 _"The pain can only end when the world itself ends," Kinana finished, before moaning and collapsing backwards. Alice caught her, wrapping her arms around her chest, and settled her back into the chair before her weight caused it to topple over._

 _"I guess it's over," Sarph observed, already opening Archive screens and trying to determine the cause of this phenomena._

 _"Guys . . look at what she wrote," Tyria whispered, gesturing to the table. Etched with crude letters, cracking the paint and burrowing into the wood, were seven words; 'TIME TICKS FORWARD ON TOWARDS INEVITABLE CHAOS'._

 _Donna stiffened, immediately recognising the phrase. "That's what Clockwork said . . right before he killed Lycurgus,"_

 _-[CoT]-_

Kinana's little episode notwithstanding, things seemed normal at the guild for the remainder of that day.

"So you two don't know anything about that phrase?" Donna checked again.

Alice and Sarph both shook their heads. "Nothing," the Brawler shrugged helplessly. "Nope," the knight agreed.

"And I suppose you just blacked out at random and didn't get anything either?" the Celestial wizard addressed Kinana, who shoo her head, still shivering.

"What I don't get is what could have caused it," Sarph admitted, scrutinising Kinana. "Real Nightmare erased all magic from her body. Apologies for being blunt, but you won't even be able to use magic for months, until your body recovers. The only thnk I can think of is that someone put some enchantment on you that caused . . that,"

"That's . . bad," the purplette muttered.

"So she was possessed!" Kit crowed, before pausing. "Wait, no. If there was another yokai here I'd be able to tell,"

"So, an enchantment that causes Kinana to have episodes of . . what?" Donna asked.

"Think about what she was saying. 'The sorrow that consumes my soul is the only thing driving me forward'," Pierce reasoned. "That sounds like . . well, to be blunt, some drama queen monologuing," Kinana mustered a faint chuckle at this.

"If they weren't Kinana's words, then whose?" Tyria wondered.

"Well, there's no way to know at present. But I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later," Alice muttered.

-[CoT]-

"At last we meet, Will Neville. You've picked a rather dreary place to rest for eternity," Brain the Second spoke as he walked through the candlelit cave. "I can't say I envy you,"

He paused, looming over a tomb with the symbol of the Zentopia church printed on it. "Guess what?" the young wizard whispered. "I've taken care of your pupils for you. And I didn't hear a single thank you," He snorted in dry amusement. "Don't worry. I'll take care of your legacy as well. Every bit of it. After all, nightmares are my specialty,"

-[CoT]-

However, odd as it may have seemed, the following few days passed mostly without incident. Several members of the guild put their plans to leave in order to train for the Games on hold, as stories of Kinana's fit spread and many guessed that something bad might happen in the near future.

And they were proven right when, on a cloudy day a mere couple of days later, some strange, massive machine appeared above the mountains to the north of Fiore.

Most of Phoenix's Eye was present at the guild hall when the sky went dark.

"What's going on?" Boomer questioned as the light in the windows died.

"I don't know. Everyone, be on guard!" Pierce commanded, looking around the guild. No one, except Pierce himself, missed the way that everyone went quiet at his authoritarian voice.

The doors swung open, and everyone turned in surprise, seeing Jet, the Speed Wizard of the Fairy Tail Guild, looking around. "Excuse me. Can we borrow your airship?" he asked the guild collectively.

Totomaru and Sensho stiffened. "Our . . airship?" the Fire wizard asked.

"Yeah. You used it to ruin our Harvest Festival a few years ago. We need it," the High Speed wizard reminded them.

"And why the hell should we let you borrow the Garuda?" Hare demanded.

"Could you please explain?" Pierce asked, a tad more reasonably.

"Well, it all kind of went over my head. But long story short, our old friends the Oracion Och tricked us into gathering the pieces of an ancient artefact called the Infinity Clock, and now the Clock's in the sky and is going to destroy the world if we don't get up there and defeat the Oracion Och. So yeah, we need to borrow your airship,"

The entirety of Phoenix's Eye was shocked into silence at this.

Pierce's eye twitched. _"Why are we only hearing about this now?!"_ he roared at the unfortunate Speed Wizard, climbing out from the table and staring the Fairy down.

Jet - for all his shortcomings, he was still a member of Fairy Tail - drew himself up proudly and shook his head. "This is a Fairy Tail problem. We can handle it ourselves. We just need your airship to get there,"

"Yeah, because you're obviously doing such a great job," Boomer scoffed.

"And you obviously haven't paid much attention, either. Sorry to disappoint, but the Garuda was destroyed during the fight with Kairos End six years ago," Totomaru interjected. Everyone was saddened at this thought.

Pierce paused. "Wait. Did you say the Oracion Och?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Jet responded to all three statements with a single word. "So, no airship. Crap," he cursed. "Maybe if I talk to Blue Pegasus,"

"Hold on, wait!" Pierce shouted, but the Fairy was already gone.

He looked around at his guildmates. "Well, you all heard him. Looks like our old friends are at it again," He paused, thinking. If Lync threw out Aluze, the Mechanical Bakugan could seat six, and Raya could carry two at a pinch. He didn't trust that it would be safe for Tyria or Sarph to use their flight spells in this weather. That meant eight people could go up to this 'Infinity Clock' at most. Himself, Kinana and Grace, obviously. If Erik was up there, he'd need to get through to him.

Pierce's musings were interrupted when one of the guild hall's windows shattered, and a chain shot through it and into the ground.

"What is that?" Eve questioned, flinching away.

In seconds, Alice was there, running Amaterasu Formulas over the metal. "It's magical, alright," she confirmed, before pausing and noticing that her guild mark was glowing. She shrugged it off, focusing on the chain's magic. "And it's strangely familiar . . oh no. Everyone! Get out of the guild hall!" she shouted in desperation as the chain began to pulse with light.

Needing no further invitation, the entire populace of Phoenix's Eye rushed for the double doors. The last few stragglers, including Eve and Russell, only barely cleared the threshold when the air around the chain began to ripple . . and, just like that, the building vanished, leaving only an empty field with the chain still latched into the ground.

The red banner, printed with the Phoenix's Eye emblem in white, that usually hung over the doors, fluttered to the ground, before landing in a heap.

The entire guild was shell-shocked. If they had been inside . . "What just happened?" Tyria whispered in horror.

Alice's glasses flashed. "It's Real Nightmare!" she explained. "The same time-altering phenomenon that we witnessed on the Sempiternal Phoenix. But it's manifesting differently now to how it did then. It seems that the guild hall has been reverted to a point before it was constructed,"

"But it'll come back? Right?" Grace pleaded. Many of the guild's other members made noises of agreement.

"It should," Alice confirmed. "The source of Real Nightmare seems to be up there! This so-called Infinity Clock," she explained, gesturing upwards. "But that's not all. Based on my analysis, these chains are helping to propagate the time-altering effects of the Clock. So if we can destroy them, it should aid in the recovery process,"

The Phoenixes looked among each other. "You heard her," Sarph took charge, drawing «Tenshi Meiyo». Orange light flickered up the black blade as he swept through the crowd and lunged for the chain, executing a four-strike «Sword Skill» that sent flashes of light through the metal.

Sarph landed, and turned to look at the chain. But it was barely even dented. "This might be harder than I thought," he muttered.

"Wait!" Eve suddenly shouted, looking around. "Where's Master? And Ariel?" At this question, everyone looked around, but the two were nowhere to be seen.

"They must . . not have gotten out in time," Alice gulped, thinking of the two women.

"Oi! You said they would be back, right?" Blanca demanded, and the orangette nodded. "They, um, should,"

"Then they will. Don't doubt our master," Grace confidently declared.

"Hey. Something's funny about my guild Mark," Sarph observed, eyeing his golden tattoo. Strangely, it was faintly glowing. A cursory inspection revealed that every member of the guild was experiencing the same phenomena. "What's going on?" Tyria asked Alice, eyeing the glowing blue park on her shoulder. In response, the Amaterasu Formulist shrugged. "I don't know . . doesn't seem to be doing anything, though,"

"We still need to get up there," Pierce took charge. "Lync! Throw out Aluze, you're our transportation. Alice, stay here and coordinate the ground forces. Break those chains," he commanded. The two Brawlers nodded, taking up positions. "Bakugan, Brawl!" Lync declared, throwing out the metal orb. The robotic bird appeared, screeching, and Pierce grinned at the sight. "Okay! Kinana, Donna, Tyria, Grace," He hesitated, before deciding against bringing Boomer. The Sound Wizard needed the Sonic Boom to be completely effective. "Sarph, Artorias,"

"And Sif," Artorias told him, gesturing to the white «Dire Wolf».

". . . We don't have room for her," Pierce protested.

"It's okay, I'll hang back," Tyria assured him, clenching her fists, "I can break chains, no problem,"

Reluctantly, the Beast Tamer agreed, and addressed his group. "You're with me and Lync. Aluze and Raya will get us up to . . that thing," he gestured upwards to the massive mechanical fish in the sky above them. The selected group nodded, making for the Mechanical Bakugan.

"Everyone else? Spread out. Help people if you can. And break those chains!" Pierce commanded. "Phoenix's Eye forever!"

"Phoenix's Eye Forever!" the guild chorused. Grinning, Pierce played the tune to summon his phoenix partner. Raya screeched, looking up at the dark skies. "The world's ending again, isn't it?" she flatly asked.

"Well, sort of," Pierce shrugged. "It's more like time's breaking down, but we're trying to fix that,"

"Why is it always time around here?" the phoenix sighed, baring her back.

"Kinana, with me," Pierce beckoned, and, obligingly, the purplette joined him in climbing onto Raya's back. "The rest of you, I'll see you up there," he grinned at his guildmates as Raya took off.

"Good luck!" Grace shouted as the bay door closed. Aluze's engines fired up, and the Bakugan roared, rotating its wings and rocketing directly upwards.

As Raya took off, Kinana massaged her temples and murmured, "Someone's calling out to me. But I wonder who?"

"Considering what we're up against, I'll give you one guess," Pierce dryly quipped.

"This Erik person I keep hearing about, probably," Kinana agreed. "I have to find him,"

-[CoT]-

"It seems Racer has fallen," Brain the Second observed, brandishing Klodoa. He, along with several of his guildmates, were gathered in the central room of the Infinity Clock. Behind him, Lucy Heartfilia was slowly being absorbed into an amber mass. "Cobra, Angel, Mylene, Canceller. We are coming under attack. We must stop them at once,"

Cobra quirked an eyebrow. "Who's 'them'?" he asked, projecting a laconic appearance..

"Fairy Tail and the Magic Council, I believe," Brain the Second scoffed. "You know our objective, Cobra. Do not fail me,"

The Poison Dragon Slayer blinked. Who had said anything about failing him . . ? Was there something going on that he didn't know about?

"Come along, Cobra," Mylene beckoned. "We don't have all day . . then again, maybe we do. This time nonsense confuses me,"

"Let's just go," Canceller growled, hefting his scythe, the weapon named Gluttony.

-[CoT]-

While the wizards of Fairy Tail were working their way through the Grand Cathedral to reach the Infinity Castle, and discovering the extent of Cardinal Lapointe's treachery, it wasn't long before Aluze was docked on the roof of the magic fish. The doors swung open, and most of the team emerged.

From above, Pierce called down. "Everyone, get inside and try to shut the place down! The three of us are gonna go looking for Erik!" he shouted.

"Good luck!" Sarph hollered back as Raya swooped away, before scouring the top side of the Infinity Castle. "There's gotta be an entrance here somewhere," he declared.

"Screw that!" Lync shouted from inside Aluze, and the machine lifted off, opening its mouth and pointing the laser cannon contained within the Bakugan's jaws at the roof. "Ability card, activate! Dora Cannon!" With that, a blast of green energy pierced straight through the roof, leaving a smouldering hole that led into the belly of the beast. "Let's head in!" he declared, sliding out of the Bakugan and landing on the roof with his guildmates.

Grinning, the Phoenixes lunged towards the hole - only to draw up short as a barrage of blue lasers impeded their progress. The five wizards looked upwards in shock.

"Lync?!" Mylene shouted in disbelief. "Is that you?" The former Vexos, current Oracion Och member, was standing on top of the squat blue knight that was her own Mechanical Bakugan. Macubass' red eyes glowered down at the Phoenixes, and Aluze's magenta eyes glinted in response.

"Mylene?" Lync gasped, seeing his old teammate. "Holy cow, you've gotten old!" he exclaimed. He wasn't lying; gaunt lines crisscrossed the once-beautiful woman's face. The years had taken their toll.

The other Phoenixes chuckled. Mylene didn't respond as Macubass lowered to their level, hovering just above the roof of the Infinity Castle. With a leap, Mylene landed before them. "I'm sorry, but I have orders. And you all need to die,"

"What, no loyalty to your old team?" Lync snorted, folding his arms.

The tealette shrugged. "Loyalty's overrated. Power is everything,"

"You learn that from King Zenoheld?" the Ventus Brawler shook his head in disbelief. "Well, I've learned things too," He turned to his guildmates. "You all go ahead. I'll deal with her," The remainder of the group nodded, and, one by one, they leapt into the hole, leaving Lync and Aluze to face Mylene and Macubass.

"Well. Two Brawlers, facing each other with their two Bakugan," Lync observed, producing a black card from his pocket. "Shall we make it a proper fight?"

"Do you really think I'd allow that? Stopping time will benefit you. How am I supposed to slow you down if we stop time for our fight?" Mylene scoffed. "We're fighting in real time, old chum. And you're going to feel my wrath,"

"Well, can't say I didn't try," Lync shrugged bashfully. "Hey, Aluze? You good to go?" The machine didn't obviously respond, but its partner thought the bird's six eyes glowed brighter for a second.

"Are you really talking to that thing? It's a tool. A machine," Mylene snorted. "It can't hear you. It's just a weapon," To prove her point, she irritably punched the foot of her Bakugan, who didn't respond. "And if you let petty little thoughts like that distract you, then against someone like me, you have no chance at all,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lync challenged.

The other Vexo exhaled slightly, before producing a card. "Let's just get this started," she commanded, and the Phoenix grinned. "You got it. Gauntlet, Power Strike!" he declared. The two Gauntlets synchronised, each displaying a meter of 500 points for both Mylene and Lync. Power levels also appeared, associated with Aluze and Macubass alike. 700 Gs.

"Ability card, activate," Mylene dispassionately declared as her blue/black Gauntlet confirmed; _"Ability card set,"_ "Radiant Claw," Taking off, its claws gleaming with blue light, Macubass swooped forwards, targeting Aluze. Lynn eyed his Gauntlet and growled as Macubass' G-Power shot up to 900 Gs. "Aluze, dodge!" he commanded, and Aluze shot upwards, leaving Macubass to smash into the roof of the Infinity Clock, where the Bakugan had been standing. Undeterred, the machine took off again and wheeled around, making another pass.

Lynn hastily pulled out a card of his own and slid it into his Gauntlet. _"Ability card set,"_ "Ablity activate!" he shouted. "Mega Bind!" Aluze screeched and launched a net of glowing green energy at Macubass as its own G-Power increased to 1000 Gs.

Mylene tched as Macubass was knocked back. "Ability card, activate," she countered. "Battle Composition," she invoked. The sound of grinding metal echoed as Macubass broke through the net and adopted what almost looked like a martial arts stance, before launching a series of quick-burst lasers from the cannons mounted on its wings. Lync gasped as Aluze crashed to the ground, its G-Power suddenly dropping to 600. "What gives?"

"True strength comes from sacrifice. It's only when you give up petty things like passion that you can attain true power," Mylene snorted as Macubass attacked Alice with renewed ferocity.

"Give up passion? What does that even - actually, you know what? It doesn't matter!" Lync retorted. "Ability activate!" he shrilly continued. "Dora Cannon!" Roaring in ferocity, Aluze reared up and exposed the two laser cannons on its underbelly, before showering Macubass with a barrage of yellow lasers, its G-Power rocketing back to 1000 Gs. Struggling, the streamlined knight attempted to push through, but it was too much. The Aquos glowed with blue light, before shrinking back into a ball and returning to Mylene. Lync grinned, and Aluze returned to him with green light.

"Your victory is immaterial," Mylene dismissed it as her Life Bar decreased by 100 points.

A smile tugged at Lync's lips. "Yeah, well I'm the one with a full Life Bar," On instinct, he reached for his Gate Cards, ready to throw out another one. But then he stopped, realising that Gate Cards wouldn't work without an active Field. Damn . . but that meant Mylene couldn't benefit from using Gates either. So it wasn't all bad. "Bakugan Brawl!" he commanded, throwing out Aluze again.

"Bakugan . . brawl," Mylene said tonelessly. Green and blue light shone as Aluze and Macubass appeared once more. Again, their G-Powers both read 700, the base amount.

"Ability, activate. Battle Composition," Mylene started off, using the same card again. Aluze frantically tried to dodge, his G-Power falling to a mere 300. Lync froze. "Oi - what gives? You can't use an Ability Card twice in one battle!"

"So narrow-minded," Mylene shook her head in mock despair.

The Phoenix gritted his teeth, his green scarf billowing in the wind from the high altitude. "There's something _wrong_ about that Ability Card,"

"Wrong? It doesn't surprise me at all that a weak-minded turncoat would describe it that way," Mylene scoffed. "But true power requires sacrifice. Not that I would expect you to understand that. However, all of us in the Neo Oracion Och have made sacrifices to attain the power that we have. Eregor gave up his memories, Racer sacrificed his humanity, and Angel -"

Aluze suddenly screeched, and Lync stiffened, realising that while the armoured woman had kept him talking, his Bakugan was coming off second-best. "Aluze!" he shouted in concern, before pulling out another card. "Ability activate! Giga Armour!" he invoked. Green energy played over the Ventus machine's body, manifesting reinforced plating and stronger shields as his power increased to 600 Gs, while Macubass' dropped to 400.

"If that's how you feel, then what did you sacrifice for the power of that card?" Lync questioned.

"My emotions," Mylene flatly told him. She tossed her head, letting her teal-coloured hair fall around her flat, emotionless eyes. Her billowing blue cape rippled in the wind, revealing the aged ceremonial Vexos armour. Lync's eyes widened, seeing that her armour was cracked and starting to fall apart. It had to be ten years old by now. But his former comrade had never taken it off. "I lost _everything_ when King Zenoheld's reign ended," she declared in a clipped tone. "My goal, my dream, my prayer. There is nothing that I want more than to regain the prestige that I held as a member of the Vexos. People will look up to me, revere me. In the new world ruled by the Infinity Clock, I will be a paragon of perfection and grace amidst the chaos,"

"That's why you're doing this?" Lync demanded as Aluze and Macubass clashed. "I always knew you were a few sandwiches short, but this is a whole new level of nuts from you!"

A powerful blast from Aluze sent Macubass crashing to the ground behind Mylene. "It doesn't matter what you think," she snorted. "Because Brain the Second told me that you have to die regardless. Phoenix's Eye is what stands between us and victory. Your demise is guaranteed," she snorted, before pulling a headset out of her coat and placing it over her head. "Ability card, activate. ABSIDS,"

Lync had no idea what she was talking about. But he recognised that card and its headset. It was an experimental direct control system that had been developed for the Alternative Weapons system, but discarded because it placed too much strain on the user's brain. "Are you crazy? If you use that thing, you'll kill yourself!" he protested. The Ability Card went into effect, and Macubass roared, its six laser cannons detaching from its wings as its G-Power rose to 800 Gs, while Aluze whimpered as it lost the 400 Gs that the Aquos machine had stolen.

"Not if I kill you first," Mylene snorted. "The moment you placed that mark on your body, you sealed your fate. Macubass, finish this," she commanded.

"Crap!" Lync decided to put aside the nonsense his old colleague was spouting and frantically pulled out another card. If this attack went through, his Life Bar would be totally wiped out. "Ability Activate! Sling Boomerang!" he commanded, and Aluze launched a curving shot of energy at the attacking Macubass seconds before it impacted, dropping the attacker to 600 Gs - just in time for the attack to hit. With a burst of green light, Aluze collapsed back into a ball and landed at his feet. Lync scrambled to pick up his partner as his Life Bar dropped by 400 of his 500 points. _"Life Bar: 20%,"_ his Gauntlet reported. His last-minute Sling Boomerang had just barely saved him from losing the battle.

Mylene caught the returned Macubass with a cold smile. "Quit while you can, you little twerp, and I'll make it painless,"

Lync gritted his teeth. "My friends, my guild. They're all counting on me," he muttered, glaring at his former colleague. "You say that you've given up all your emotions. But I don't believe that at all!" he shouted. "You say that sacrifice makes you stronger, but that's not right either. Because it's our bonds that gives us true power!" he retorted.

With a flick of her wrist and a tightening of her jaw, Mylene sent Macubass spinning out into the space between them. "Bakugan, brawl," she hissed.

"Bakugan Brawl!" Lync hotly retorted, throwing out Aluze. Macubass stood, stoic and emotionless as Mylene was trying to be, but Aluze screeched, its six eyes glittering with energy as its limbs lashed furiously.

Lync smirked. "I hope using your ABSIDS trump card in only the second round was worth it -"

"Ability card. Activate," the woman interrupted him, sliding another card into her Gauntlet. "ABSIDS TR 2," Macubass' metal limbs flexed menacingly as it drained _five hundred_ Gs from Aluze, leaving Lync with a thousand-point deficit.

The cockiness drained from Lync's face as Mylene brandished a familiar card. "Say goodbye," she coolly taunted, holding up the Battle Composition Ability. The pink-haired boy gulped. If she used that card now . . Aluze's G-Power would hit 0, and he'd automatically lose. "Ability card set," Mylene's Gauntlet droned as she slid the card into it.

"Ability activate!" Lync hastily countered. "Thunder Booster!" Crackling with green electricity, the mechanical bird blasted Macubass with lightning and stole 300 Gs, just in time for Mylene to command, "Battle Composition!" The two machines exchanged blows, Aluze coming off worse. When the blasts had landed, Macubass' G-Power had been dropped to 900, while Aluze was barely hanging on with 100 Gs.

The mechanical bird whirled and sank, spiralling towards its partner and barely catching itself before it could crash. "Aluze!" Lync shouted, concerned for his Bakugan.

"I don't know why you care so much. It's just a pile of spare parts," Mylene scoffed, but Lync took no notice, his pale, salmon-coloured eyes meeting the struggling robot's six magenta optics. "Can you keep going?" he desperately asked.

Aluze's eyes glinted.

Lync grinned. "Alright!" Because no matter where he came from, or why he'd been made, Aluze was Lync's partner. They'd been together through thick and thin, as Vexos, as members of the Electrian Resistance, as guardians of the Electrian Compendium and members of Phoenix's Eye.

Mylene scoffed. "Kill them,"

The six laser cannons of her Bakugan detached, and barrelled towards the pair. The boy turned, seeing the impending attack. "Aw, crap!"

All six fired at once, and the resulting impact caused a massive plume of smoke to erupt around the defending pair. A smile tugged at Mylene's lips.

"You think we'd die to something like that?" Lync shouted as Aluze erupted through the smoke. Mylene gasped, seeing that, somehow, her former colleague had been caught by Aluze and was riding, his centre of gravity low and his stance on point, atop his Bakugan's head.

Crouched low and trying to find purchase on the green spot between his partner's eyes, Lync crowed as the pair hung, tantalising, before their foes. A pop-up reminded them that Aluze still had 100 Gs. "I don't know what kind of crap you're buying into!" the boy hollered. "But Aluze is my Bakugan, and . . and I love him! If you really don't care about Macubass at all, then you're just as cold and robotic as he is! And no matter what you think, no one's ever going to respect someone who treats their partner like that!"

Mylene's lips parted, revealing teeth gritted in anger. "What would you know, you upstart little brat?" she snapped, clenching her fists and struggling to maintain her Battle Composition. "Macubass! Destroy them!"

Macubass roared, and, with Mylene directing both it and its cannons with her headset, it charged.

Lync grinned. "You have to catch us first!" And with that, they were gone, darting away with incredible speed that the squashed knight couldn't hope to match. In spite of himself, the Brawler smiled as his partner moved smoothly through the air, dodging every blast of blue light with such grace and elegance that the great steel bird almost seemed to be dancing in the air.

Keeping one eye on Mylene, the Brawler whooped for sheer joy. Maybe it wasn't the right time or place, but flying like this, with his partner, it was one of the greatest things he'd ever felt . . but he knew that Aluze couldn't keep this up forever. "Aluze, there's only one way we can win this," he addressed the machine, and his partner ground metal together in agreement. "We have to go sub-orbital,"

And with that, Aluze whirled on a dime, folding its wins in and diving straight for Mylene. The evil Brawler blanched, seeing the incoming robot target her. "What? You can't target me! That's not fair!" The mobile, floating laser cannons darted towards her, ready to be sacrificed in defence of Mylene's life. Her hypocrisy didn't even register.

Lync grinned.

And, suddenly, they were gone.

Mylene stiffened, looking around in concern. "Where did they go?" she asked, trying not to let the concern enter her voice. She couldn't break her Battle Composition. Macubass, of course, was no help. The problem, after all, with controlling her Bakugan with her mind, was that her Bakugan had no opportunity to develop a mind of its own.

But, high above, Lync shivered. "I wish I had my coat," he murmured, feeling the cold as Aluze climbed higher and higher into the sky. "We have to go higher, though," he mumbled, looking at his last few Ability Cards.

Aluze was designed primarily as a sub-orbital weapons platform. His ground combat capabilities were secondary to his functions as a long-range weapon. Lync knew that he had to tap his partner's full abilities if he was going to win this fight against Mylene. But he couldn't stay on the ground, or Mylene and Macubass would kill him before Aluze was finished preparing the attack. And in his current situation, it wasn't possible for him to get inside Aluze's hull. So Lync had no choice but to come along for the ride.

Besides, he told himself, trying to block out the cold of the atmosphere's upper reaches, his friends had experienced worse. If Tyria could handle flying into space with her own wings and destroying the Alternative Weapons System, he could handle this! . . although, it was getting hard to breathe . . .

Lync clenched his fist, and, with shaking fingers, he pulled out two cards and slid them, together, into his Gauntlet. "F-fusion Ability A-activate!" he commanded with chattering teeth. "Aero A-aegis!"

Roaring, the cannon on Aluze's underbelly shone, before raining down a barrage of light. Far, far below, Mylene looked up, realising, too late, where her opponent had disappeared to, as shining light shone down on her and Macubass. With a fizzle, the ABSIDS headset suddenly crackled and died. "What the - did he just nullify _all_ of our Abilities?" she gasped, looking at her Gauntlet. Even though they were no longer present, it was still synchronised with Lync's. And the readouts now declared that both Aluze and Macubass had returned to the base G-Power value of 700 Gs.

In the upper reaches of the atmosphere, Lync grinned, holding his last card. "A-aluze, you ready?" he asked his partner, and Aluze growled in confirmation.

"Ability c-card, activate," the half-frozen Brawler declared, slipping the card into his Gauntlet and sliding it shut, which caused the wrist-mounted computer to confirm; _"Ability card set,"_

"Sky Impact!" Lync declared, and held on tight.

Aluze fell out of the sky.

Like a meteor, the avian machine rocketed downwards, specifically targeting Macubass. Energy built around Aluze's body, a glowing corona of orange light. "Airnvention: Plating!" Lync commanded, a metal shell enveloping his skin to shield him from the fiery energy that was building up around them as they fell.

Mylene checked her Gauntlet again, realising that Aluze's G-Power had increased to 1200 Gs when her opponent activated his final Ability Card, and looked up, seeing the meteoric mech accelerating towards them. "Oh, no," she groaned.

"Brace for impact!" Lync shouted, leaping clear just in time.

Like a rocket, Aluze crashed directly into Macubass. Metal ground, splintered and parted as the mech was crushed into the roof of the Infinity Clock beneath them. An incredible shockwave of atmospheric energy erupted from the impact point, expanding outwards in every direction. The shockwave knocked Mylene backwards and sent Macubass' six mobile cannons flying in every direction.

Carefully compensating, Lync landed in a crouch, before rushing towards the epicentre. "Aluze! Are you alright?" he shouted.

When the smoke finally cleared, he saw them.

Aluze was beaten, dented and singed, but the mechanical bird shrieked with triumph. Under its claws were the sparking, smoking remains of Macubass; broken apart, with shredded circuitry exposed, and several parts having broken away entirely. Lync grinned at the sight. There was no repairing that level of damage.

The Gauntlets beeped, registering the 500 points of damage Mylene had taken to her Life Bar. _"Mylene: Life Bar: Zero. Winner: Lync,"_ Aluze roared his victory to the world one more time, before vanishing into green light. Lync smiled, catching the metal ball as it returned to him.

"I don't . . understand," Mylene spluttered as she picked herself up several metres away. "How could I . . lose?"

"It's like I told you," Lync informed her. "Giving up your emotions and fighting based on cool logic is all good in theory, but it doesn't matter how much you try to get rid of them. Emotions are part of being alive, you can block them out, but you can't ever really get rid of them. And treating your Bakugan like a tool . ." He sighed, shaking his head. "Thinking that way is why we Vexos lost to begin with. Me, I've learned that Bakugan are alive, they're our partners. Whether they're flesh or metal, we put our trust - no, our lives - in their hands. And I've learned that I have to trust Aluze. Treating Macubass like a weapon, controlling it with that ABSIDS System? There isn't any trust in that. You're just leaving yourself vulnerable,"

"What do you know?" Mylene snorted. "You're just a little brat,"

"Hey! This little brat just beat you!" Lync hotly retorted. "But, more importantly, I let my friends get inside," He thought of his guildmates, and smiled. "Good luck, guys,"

-[CoT]-

"Hey, listen up, everybody!" Warren broadcast with his telepathy magic to every member of Fairy Tail within the Infinity Castle. "We gotta finish up beating the Neo-Oracion Och right now, because once Lucy finishes merging with the Infinity Clock, it's game over! We can't let that happen!"

Erza frowned as Cobra dodged one of her swords. She was clinging to the exterior of the Infinity Castle to battle the Poison wizard. And it sounded like time was running out. Electricity crackled from her Thunder Empress armour, but Cobra, unfazed, knocked her away.

"I heard that," Cobra growled. "If you defeat me, my seal will be taken off the clock. You don't have much time left to do that. So just give up and save yourself!" he snapped.

"Ridiculous," Erza retorted. "I would never surrender to you,"

"You think that, even if you fall, your friends will be able to help you?" the man snorted. "There's no way you can win believing in something so naive!"

-[CoT]-

Not far away, Kinana suddenly stiffened. "You think that, even if you fall, your friends will be able to help you? There's no way you can win believing in something so naive," she recited.

"This again, huh?" Pierce observed. "Can you tell where Erik is?" he asked.

Shivering, Kinana weakly raised an arm and pointed to their right and downwards. "This way," Pierce guided Raya, who moved in the appropriate direction. "We're coming to get you, old friend,"

 _-[CoT]-_

 _"Welcome, one and all, to Doctor Kit's -" Kit broke off into a coughing fit, looking around the set. "Ugh, it's been so long since I've been here. This place is full of dust!"_

 _"Anyway. I've been called back to clarify something that a lot of people will surely be wondering. And that is; why isn't any member of Phoenix's Eye being affected by Real Nightmare?"_

 _Kit checked a couple of notes at his feet. "Well, there's a simple explanation for that. The [SPOILER] abilities that are inherent to the [SPOILER] associated with [SPOILER], as granted to [SPOILER] by [SPOILER], grant the wizards of Phoenix's Eye a [SPOILER] to all [SPOILER SPOILER]. Make sense?"_

 _He chuckled. "Seriously, though, there's a very good explanation. I'm just not allowed to tell you what it is at this stage. All will be revealed in time,"_

 _Something beeped, and Kit checked the TelePrompter. "Oh, right. Does this apply to the Real Nightmare that Phoenix's Eye experienced on the Sempiternal Phoenix? Yes, actually, it did. Notice that no actual member of Phoenix's Eye was affected by Real Nightmare, as Cubelios and Donna technically were not members of Phoenix's Eye at the time. So if any of them had actually encountered that magic, it would have had no effect them, like now,"_

 _Something else flashed on the screen, and Kit blinked. "And Raya, since she's not a wizard of Phoenix's Eye? Phoenix feathers are immune to magic, remember? She's got her own unique invulnerability,"_

 _There was one more spot of text rolling onto he screen, and Kit frowned. "I also have to make a note that the banner printed with the guild mark was similarly immune to Real Nightmare. Unfortunately, that protection was not spread to the rest of the guild hall,"_

 _"That's all for now! See you . . maybe, on Doctor Kit's Documentaries on Phoenix's Eye!"_

 _A/N_

 **A/N**

 **Double update today, notes next chapter! Peace!**


	21. The Light That Destroys Shadows

Chapter 91: The Light That Destroys Shadows

 **A/N: Double Update, to celebrate Thanksgiving! Don't miss the previous chapter!**

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _Pierce looked back at the Poison wizard in surprise, noticing his cocky smirk, and wondered; 'Did he just read my mind?'_

 _"Yeah, I did. I also heard the thoughts of those two bumbling fairies," Cobra snorted. "That's how I knew they were coming,"_

 _"That could have just been a variety of Ward Magic," Pierce said, testing the waters, before thinking; 'But if you can really hear my thoughts, you'll know something that I never tell anyone but my closest friends; that the identity of my father -'_

 _"Is Jarod Blastreyne," Cobra finished his sentence, even as he thought the words. Pierce blanched. There was no way he could have known that any other way . . it was true. Cobra could hear his thoughts._

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _Not far away, Kinana suddenly stiffened. "You think that, even if you fall, your friends will be able to help you? There's no way you can win believing in something so naive," she recited._

 _"This again, huh?" Pierce observed. "Can you tell where Erik is?" he asked._

 _Shivering, Kinana weakly raised an arm and pointed to their right and downwards. "This way," Pierce guided Raya, who moved in the appropriate direction. "We're coming to get you, old friend,"_

 _-[CoT]-_

Cobra and Erza paused in their fight, taking breaths and sizing each other up.

But that was when he heard it. That voice . . the voice he hadn't heard in seven years . . . _"We're coming to get you, old friend,"_

"Who said that?" he questioned, looking around wildly. However, he heard someone lunging towards him and narrowly dodged Erza's spear. "I don't have time for this!" he shouted, roughly shoving her away and searching the area around him. It couldn't be. He had vanished, seven years ago, along with the being he cared about most . .

"You'd think that in a serious fight like this you could do your opponent the courtesy of paying attention!" Erza snapped, attacking him again. Again, Cobra dodged.

And then he saw them. An orange speck high above, vaguely recognisable as a flaming bird. Coming towards him. "No way," he breathed, his eyes widening.

Erza followed his line of sight and paused. "That's Pierce. He is a wizard from the Phoenix's Eye guild. Why are you so interested?" Her first instinct was to attack while he was distracted, but the Requip Mage restrained herself. Something else was going on here, and she wouldn't interrupt.

"But . . he's dead . . and he's here . . and he's with her," Cobra stilled.

Barely a minute later, Raya flapped and landed on one of the adjacent struts that the two were fighting on. Pierce immediately dismounted, along with a lithe, purple-haired girl that Cobra didn't immediately recognise . . and yet she was so familiar . . .

"Erik," Pierce greeted him, looking concerned.

"How can you be here?" the Och member demanded. "You died! Half of your guild died! Cubelios died!"

"Actually, we were all sent six years forwards in time," Pierce corrected him, before peering at him in curiosity. "What happened to your eye?"

"I got rid of it. Not like it matters. I only need my hearing, anyway," Erik shook his head. "But why does this girl here sound so much like Cubelios?" he demanded, not wanting to deal with small talk when important things were going on.

Pierce frowned. In the month and a half that he'd spent sailing back to Fiore on board the _Fowl Iris_ , he'd had a lot of time to think. He knew that most of the Oracion Och, with the exception of Mylene and Brain himself, had been slaves in the Tower of Heaven. Which was ruled by cultists and dark wizards. And he'd come up with a hypothesis. "In the Tower of Heaven, the dark wizards that held you and your friends captive. Did they ever perform magical experiments on slaves?"

Erik blinked. He hadn't anticipated this line of questioning. "Yeah, all the time. Why?"

Erza stiffened at mention of the Tower. But she didn't respond, knowing that she had no place in these proceedings.

"You first met Cubelios there, in the Tower, didn't you?" Pierce further confirmed, and the maroon-haired man nodded confirmation. "Why all the questions?"

"Do you think the cultists there might have been interested in turning a human into a snake?" the Tamer addressed the matter.

Erik stiffened, looking at Kinana with new eyes. "You . . mean?"

Nervously, the young woman peered at him, taking a hesitant step forwards. "It's you, isn't it?" she muttered. "You're the one whose voice I've been hearing,"

The Poison wizard stared, slowly nodding. "It is you . . . all this time, I missed you so much, and all I ever had to do was wait," he murmured. Erik looked away, suddenly unable to meet her eyes. "I've done such horrible things . . I thought the world hated me, but . . what the hell kind of sick joke is this? I wait for years and nothing happens, but I go back to the darkness and suddenly you two are here again? It's too . ." he paused, and frowned. "Convenient," he settled on, suddenly regarding the two with suspicious hostility.

Kinana paused, drawing back. "What's wrong?"

Cobra growled, recalling something that Pierce had told him. The Tamer only told his closest friends the identity of his father. If his suspicions were correct and this Pierce was an imposter, then he wouldn't be able to answer that question. "What is your father's name? What's his role, and where is he now?" If this boy couldn't answer that perfectly . .

Pierce blinked, surprised. "Alright," he frowned. "My father is Jarod Blastreyne. Former Guild Master of the Dark Guild Severed Tusk. Last I checked, he was still in prison, but to be honest? I don't really care anymore," he admitted. "And you're asking because when we first met, I told you that only my closest friends know that, and if I was a fake, I wouldn't. Right?"

"Right," the Dragon Slayer nodded, his suspicions assuaged.

"And I know your name, Erik. You told me once that I'm the only person who calls you by your actual name. That should also prove my identity," the Phoenix told him.

Erik nodded. "I believe you," he confirmed.

"Then what are you going to do?" Erza interrupted, and the three suddenly looked at her. "Touching as this is, you're still part of the dark guild that is currently trying to destroy the world. Do you still want to go through with that?"

The man blinked, thinking to himself. Something occurred to him. "Hey. If you're here, then your guild's baby dragon is too, right?"

Pierce chuckled. He had almost forgotten Grace's old nickname; 'Phoenix's Eye's Baby Dragon'. "Yeah, she is,"

"Well, that settles it, doesn't it?" Erik declared, clenching his fists. "I can't destroy this world. Not when it's the one that my family lives in,"

"Then take your seal off the Infinity Clock," Erza commanded. The maroon-haired man frowned. "I can't just snap my fingers and make it disappear. The Clock has a seal for every member of the Neo Oracion Och that hasn't been defeated yet,"

"Well, what if you weren't a member of the Neo Oracion Och?" Kinana posed. The three wizards blinked, and looked at her. "What did you say?" Pierce blinked.

"I think she's onto something," Erza nodded. "Where's your guild mark?" she asked her former foe. With a flash, her Lightning Empress Armour vanished, and suddenly she was dressed in an apron and wielding what looked like a tattoo removal kit.

Erik just smiled and started to take off his shirt.

(And Kinana may or may not have swooned at his muscles!)

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, the rest of the assault team of Phoenix's Eye were trying to navigate the interior of the Infinity Castle.

"This place is an architect's nightmare," Artorias observed, looking around.

"Do you know where we're going?" Donna directly questioned Sarph. This entire situation was putting her on edge. It hadn't escaped her notice that this entire mess was being caused by a clock, when the words that haunted her referred to clocks and time and had been spoken by a man named 'Clockwork'.

"That way," the golden knight philosophically replied, gesturing in the direction that the group was walking.

Grace appeared from a rift, leaping past them, before pulling open another bend in space and leaping into it - only to bounce off it as though she had just walked into a wall. "Damnit," she frowned, dispersing the rippling breach in reality.

"What happened?" Artorias asked, concerned.

"That's not just a wall. It's all solid," Grace shook her head, gesturing at the side of the corridor they were progressing along. "I tried to get through it, but there's no 'through it' to get to,"

"Whoops," Donna sweatdropped.

"No matter. We'll keep going," Sarph declared.

The group walked onwards. Artorias frowned, watching Sif. The wolf seemed on edge, regularly glancing in every direction.

"Something's wrong with Sif," Donna observed. The Blood wizard nodded, agreeing. "I wonder what she senses? It's a shame that Pierce is absent. He could probably interpret," he chuckled. The girls giggled with him, but Artorias didn't miss the absence of Sarph's accompanying chuckle. "Didn't you like the joke, Sarph?" he questioned, looking around. But there was no sign of the golden knight. "Sarph?"

Donna and Grace looked around too. "Where'd he go?" the Electrian wondered.

"Be on your guard. The Clock may be trying to separate us. Both of you, take my hand," Artorias commanded, extending his arms. Grace clung to his left arm, and Artorias tensed a little, expecting Donna to take his right. But the anticipated contact never came.

"Donna?" Grace blinked, looking around.

The Blood Mage frowned, keeping Sif in his sights and Grace's hand in his. "Stay back to back. We can't be surprised if our fields of vision cover all 360 degrees," Grace nodded, spinning and covering his back, leaving inches of space between them that were cast into shadow.

The two continued onwards, watching their surroundings. "Show yourself!" Artorias challenged.

"If you insist," a voice echoed rom the room, and suddenly, a hand was around both of their necks. Grace screamed, and Artorias gritted his teeth, clutching at the black fingers pressed against his jugular. _'How did he get between us?'_ the Blood wizard silently questioned. Focusing, he targeted the blood that was in his enemy's fingers. Surely, he could force them to unclench . . . but there was nothing. "What?" he questioned, his customary veil of indifference broken by confusion.

"You're trying to manipulate my blood, aren't you?" their assailant hissed, and his grip tightened. Grace squirmed. "Well, I'm sorry to say that that won't work. I left that behind a long time ago,"

"What do you mean by that?" Artorias squirmed, still struggling against his grip. Meanwhile, Grace stopped moving and closed her eyes, focused, feeling every fibre of her being. She had an idea, but if it was going to work, she'd need to warp space with _surgical_ precision.

"You remember me. Don't you?" the voice hissed.

Artorias would have shrugged if he could move. "I've fought a lot of psychopaths. You can't expect me to remember every last one,"

"Even a phoenix of blood cannot fight his own shadow,"

The Phoenix stiffened. "You're right. I do remember you,"

Canceller chuckled. "I'm glad. It will make eating you so much more satisfy - what?" Suddenly, the pressure was released, and Artorias dashed forward, away from the attacker. But Canceller was otherwise occupied, looking away from him in confusion. "Where did she go?"

"I'm the Reality Dragon Slayer! The world itself bends to my will!" Grace challenged, clenching her fists and growling from a few feet away.

Artorias grinned as he realised what had happened. Contrary to popular belief, Grace's abilities weren't conventional teleportation. She was able to manipulate the fabric of space itself, to take two points in three-dimensional space and temporarily exchange their positions. She must have carefully taken the exact area that her body occupied and exchanged it with a point of equal shape and size down the corridor. Which . . he sweatdropped, realising that this new ability basically was teleportation.

"I know. It's the reason that I want your magic so much," Looking back at Canceller, Artorias raised a curious eyebrow.

Before, the man had been near-constantly cloaked in a hood and cape. It obscured his body, but he was at least noticeably human. Now, though . . his body seemed more amorphous. Less distinct. He couldn't see any trace of exposed skin anywhere. It was as though Canceller had become a living shadow. "You look different," he noncommittally observed.

Something shifted in Canceller's body. Artorias thought he might be looking at him. "The Neo-Oracion Och have all made sacrifices. I'm no exception,"

Grace tilted her head curiously. "What did you sacrifice?"

"My flesh," the wizard murmured, before he suddenly lunged towards Grace. She flicked her hand, and suddenly fell through the floor, landing behind Canceller and near Artorias.

"This is serious," the little girl murmured.

"I agree," the boy nodded, unsheathing «Sleepless Dream». Sif growled, and the three Phoenixes watched their foe carefully.

"You said you were going to eat me. What does that mean?" Grace checked.

"It means this," Something shifted in Canceller's body, and suddenly the faces of their two missing friends emerged from his shadowy form. Donna spluttered, eyes frantic. "What's going on?"

"He's absorbing our magic!" Sarph burst out, trying without success to break free, and panting heavily.

"Indeed I am," Canceller hissed, raising an arm. "And I can use it. Archive!" he declared, surging forwards as his arm launched golden lasers at the wizards. Sarph gritted his teeth, before, with a roll of darkness, the two trapped wizards vanished. Grace gasped. "No way," Artorias pulled her aside, and they narrowly dodged his swing.

"It's that scythe. I think it was called Gluttony. It lets him consume other wizards' magic," Artorias recalled.

"What scythe?" Grace questioned. Artorias blinked, and realised she was right. Canceller was weaponless.

"So, you remember it!" Canceller smiled, folding his shadowy arms. "But I don't need it anymore. Indeed, I have _become_ Gluttony,"

Artorias raised a challenging eyebrow.

"I sacrificed my corporeal form. I melded with the magic of my weapon. And now what remains of my body is an endless void that will drain the magic and the life of all who enter it," the man seemed to smile.

"We need to get them out of there," the Blood wizard murmured.

Grace frowned. "I might be able to use my spatial magic to breach his interior dimension. But how do we fight a shadow?"

"Leave that to me," Artorias gritted his teeth. Blood slicked along «Sleepless Dream», generating a long, flowing cord extending from the end of the weapon, which ended in a heavy, spiked ball. The boy charged forwards, bringing his mace back for a pass.

"That's not going to work," a voice piped up. Artorias ignored it, but Grace started, looking around. A blue/green falcon appeared before her, hovering, before perching on her shoulder. "Oh, hey Quarla," she greeted the yokai.

For a second, they watched Artorias try fruitlessly to hit the shadowy man. He was certainly fast enough, and made contact several times, but on every occasion it simply passed through Canceller as though . . well, as though he were made of shadow.

"I don't know who that man is or what he's done to himself, but somehow he's converted his entire body into ectoplasm," the falcon tutted, cocking her head disdainfully.

"What's that?" Grace questioned.

"It's what yokai like me are made of. Ectoplasm . ." Quarla paused, wondering how to explain it to Grace. "It's sort of like it exists at a _tangent_ to the real world. It's present, and it can be seen, but how tangible it is tends to vary,"

Grace watched Canceller dish out a punch that made contact with Artorias' shoulder. "So he's only solid when he wants to be?"

"Basically, yes," the falcon confirmed. "And the only thing that can make contact with ectoplasm regularly is more ectoplasm,"

And then it hit her. "You're made of ectoplasm, right?" Grace eagerly asked.

"Um . . yes," Quarla confirmed.

"So you can fight him!"

"Are you out of your mind?" the small yokai asked. "What do you expect me to do? Peck him to death?"

And suddenly Grace had it. "Fuse with me," she breathed.

Quarla spluttered, shocked. "Excuse me?"

"Yokai Unison. Pierce and Kit can do it. Why not us?" the Dragon Slayer questioned. "You already did it once, back in Ghoulia,"

"That wasn't Yokai Unison. I just helped you release your magic. What you're talking about," Grace blinked, realising Quarla looked nervous. "It's completely different,"

Artorias grunted as Canceller knocked him back. He cast a glance in their direction, raising an eyebrow.

"I need to help them," Grace protested, shooting her friend a pleading look.

Quarla gulped as their eyes met. She paused, considering it. ". . It might not work," she pointed out.

"I'll take the chance. It's worth it," Grace resolutely retorted.

Quarla nodded, and spread her wings, before leaping into the air. Grace watched as she swooped upwards, turned on a dime, and dove back towards her. And, all of a sudden, she glowed white, before striking Grace and dissipating into her chest. For her part, the Dragon Slayer relaxed, doing her best to allow Quarla to enter her unimpeded.

Like a wave, unfamiliar energy flowed through her. Grace gasped as her entire nervous system tingled, a strange, but pleasant sensation. Suddenly, the world looked different; colours more vibrant, shadows more clear. And then she felt light-headed, as something else came forward and took control of her body. Her «Dragonwing Dress'» twin trailing ruffs glowed as excess magic flowed into them, and lengthened, coating themselves with green feathers and becoming long, semi-prehensile tendrils, quickly accompanied by several blue/green tailfeathers from the small of her back. Her left arm tingled, before erupting with blue feathers that coated her shoulder down to her forearm, while her hand became scaled and grew into avian talons. Quarla, having taken control of Grace's body, looked at the asymmetry in surprise as her feet became similarly scaled.

"Hey, it's like my Dragon Force form. But with feathers!" Grace observed. "Is that so?" Quarla questioned with surprise, before nodding. "I suppose I activated the same magic circuits, then,"

Artorias coughed, narrowly dodging a knife-like blow from Canceller.

"On it," Quarla declared, throwing their body forwards. Their shadowy adversary turned and regarded them. "I don't know what you -" The punch they landed knocked him backwards, off his feet. "How did you -" But the combined pair didn't let up, leaping upwards and dealing a crushing blow to his chest.

Artorias watched in amazement. "Not bad," he agreed. Sif sat at his heels.

"I see," Canceller frowned, before raising an arm, and, suddenly, in his hand, was one of Donna's crystal keys. "Open, Gate of the Battlefield! Mars!" A doorbell rang out, and the armoured spirit manifested, brandishing a sword. "Celestial Spirit Mars, at your . ." he barked, before looking around in confusion. "Where's my mistress?"

"He ate her," Artorias informed the Celestial Deity, gesturing at Canceller.

"And since I wield her magic, that makes me your Master," the shadowy, humanoid mass leered. "Kill them," he commanded, before throwing up a screen of Archive magic to block an attack from Quarla.

Instead, Mars blinked in confusion. "That's . . not how a contract with a Celestial Spirit works," he pointed out.

Canceller paused. ". . . It isn't?"

"No. But if you're holding my Master hostage -" Suddenly a spear was in his hands, and he lashed at Canceller, face twisted with fury. "- then you are my enemy!" The Och member, though, didn't even try to dodge, letting the weapon pass through him.

"Only I can hit him," Quarla told the Spirit, and he raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? In that -"

"Close, Gate of the Battlefield," Canceller declared, and Mars vanished before he could finish his sentence.

"Damnit," the united wizard/yokai muttered. "Hang back," Quarla commanded Artorias and Sif. "We'll handle this,"

Reluctantly, Artorias nodded. He was pragmatic; he could tell when he would only be a hindrance. Obeying her master, Sif patiently sat at his heels.

Reality rippled around Quarla's borrowed hands, and the yokai grinned. "This is fun," Suddenly, she was above Canceller, and delivered a crushing double kick to the back of his head region. The man collapsed into a shadowy mass that spread across the floor. "I'll consume your power!" he declared, opening wide in preparation to swallow them both.

Grace briefly surged forwards in their combined consciousness and splayed her fingers. "Reality Dragon's Null Space!" Since the fight with fake-XaXa and Necrozma, she had perfected the technique of cancelling out gravity in a given area. Undaunted, she hung in the air, looking down at Canceller.

Canceller snarled, before surging upwards - and suddenly found himself above the Dragon Slayer. He barely had time to register that he had just passed through a spatial warp before Quarla, having wrested control of Grace's powers, fell downward, into a rift, and flew at him from the side, delivering another strong blow from her left fist. Canceller was knocked backwards, sending his shadowy body spilling out of the rift it was still partly submerged in.

And then Quarla flexed Grace's fingers and closed the spatial distortion. With Canceller still inside it.

The dark wizard screamed in agony as space itself tore his body in half. Quarla landed, a menacing glimmer in her eyes as the severed bottom part of Canceller's body rapidly broke down and washed away like sludge, leaving a seemingly catatonic Sarph and Donna lying on the ground. A few metres away, still screaming in agony, the remnants of the dark wizard hit the ground, taking the form of the head, shoulders and chest of the man he had once been. Callously stepping over Grace's guildmates, Quarla advanced, reality flickering and distorting around her fingers.

And then she stopped, feeling strange inside. "What are you doing?" she muttered, before spasming. And, with a massive flash of light, the transformation that had overtaken Grace in the Yokai Unison reversed as the girl physically threw Quarla out of her body, leaving the falcon to crash to the ground a couple of metres away.

"What am I doing? What are _you_ doing?" Grace demanded, looking uncharacteristically cross. "You can't use my powers like that! It's dangerous! Look at him!" she gestured to the emancipated remains of their foe.

"He's our enemy. It's the easiest way to dispatch him," Quarla snorted, oooking confused and annoyed. "You want to win, don't you? To save your friends? Well, we just did. And I was about to finish it,"

"Not like that!" Grace vehemently shook her head. "I-I mustn't use my powers like that, it's too dangerous,"

And, suddenly, Artorias was there, resting a hand on Grace's shoulder. "No, you shouldn't. Restraint is a good thing, and you don't seem to have any of that," he frowned disapprovingly at Quarla.

The yokai spluttered, annoyed. "Don't make me the bad guy here! I don't know why you don't want to use your powers to their full extent, but it works. We won. You should be happy about that,"

"If we win like that, then we're no better than them!" Grace retorted, looking disturbed.

Quarla sighed, before huffing in irritation. "Who said we have to be?" With that, she was gone, sinking into the floor.

Canceller moaned, and Sif crouched over him with a warning growl.

Artorias looked around. "Well, so much for our offensive," he muttered in irritation, before carefully lifting Sarph. "Help me get these two back outside. The Magic Council can clean him up," he gestured to Canceller.

"Right," Grace agreed, lifting Donna.

"Lync should still be outside," Artorias asserted, setting off. Sif used her broad back to help her master carry their guildmate.

As they left, an echo reverberated through the Infinity Castle. "Warning: Another seal has been erased. Now only two remain,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Finally! Been looking forward to this fight for a while. Grace's first Yokai Unison . . and it ended badly, as well as what's arguably the first demonstration of the true capabilities of her powers.**

 **I'm sure people can see why they scare her.**

 **It only took ninety chapters, too! XD Also, Canceller's back. People might remimember him as an OC submitted by Sushiforsale back when I was accepting OCs, and . . okay, we probably won't see him again until Crime Sorciere recruits for former Och members . . assuming the Magic Council can capture him in his new state. Actually, now that I think about it I have a couple or ideas for where to take his character . . but that's for later.**

 **But the most important thing about this chapter is that Erik's back! Now, to be honest I was considering making him fight Pierce again. He could have not believed Pierce was the real deal, he could have not cared, I even flirted with the idea of Klodoa showing up and mind-controlling him. But ultimately I decided there would be no point. Erik and Pierce fighting would have just padded the story out unnecessarily. And . . since I really want to get to Grand Magic Games ASAP (and I'm sure I'm not the only one), I really didn't feel like padding out the story with a totally unnecessary fight that serves little to no greater purpose in the overall narrative.**

 **I hope no one's too disappointed. (And anyone who is, I assure you that next chapter will make up for it in every way.) And regardless, there'll be plenty of opportunities to see Erik in action in the future.**

 **Peace!**


	22. A Storm Brewing

Chapter 92: A St **0** rm Brewing

"Warning: Another seal has been erased. Now only two remain," Lucy spoke in monotone from where she was being absorbed by the Infinity Clock.

"Oh, this is terrible!" Klodoa protested, slumping from where Brain II was carrying him.

"Aw yeah! Now all I gotta do is kick your butts and it's over!" Natsu crowed, and Imitatia tched. "How can you be so stubborn and single-minded? At this point, all you can do is delay the inevitable. It's far too late to change anything,"

Brain II leered. "I will complete what my father could not; to wipe out all that has form in this world, and to usher in a new era of pure chaos," He smiled darkly at Natsu. "You got in our way seven years ago. But history will not repeat itself. I will destroy you," he stated, sweeping out an arm and manifesting red and white light that surged outwards towards Natsu. The Dragon Slayer tensed, bracing for impact.

But suddenly, someone was there between them, spreading her arms wide. An equal and opposite pulse of blue met the Och leader's attack, and Natsu's eyes widened as the forces cancelled out.

Brain II paused, frowning as the energy dispersed - and then his eyes widened. _"You,"_ he hissed.

Natsu blinked. "Who are you?"

The bluenette turned her head just enough so that he could see her face and smiled at him. "I'm Ariel. I've been watching you for a while. It's nice to finally meet you, Natsu. Now, I'm sorry to barge in, but can you please let me take care of this guy? He's done some things that he really shouldn't have, and cleaning this mess up is my responsibility,"

"Um . . okay, if you say so," the Fairy nodded, stepping backwards.

"Besides, I feel like rescuing your friend would be your priority, right?" Ariel checked, and Natsu smiled at this. "You're right. Alright, I'll leave him to you. Whoever you are. Just yell if you need a hand, though, okay?"

For some reason, Ariel found this amusing, and she chuckled. "Sure. I'll do that,"

"Alright," the Dragon Slayer grinned at her, before turning back to Imitatia. "I'm all fired up now,"

As the Fairies readied themselves for another round with Imitatia, Ariel and Brain II eyed each other; the Och with turmoil in his eyes, and Ariel with a tense, tightly controlled fury.

"Should we take this outside?" Ariel suggested.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? To negate my home field advantage?" Brain II shook his head.

"I would," the Phoenix nonchalantly admitted.

"I don't think so. Klodoa. Keep an eye on things here. I will handle this," the boy commanded his staff, before casting it aside, and Klodoa nodded. "As you wish, Master!"

Ariel smiled.

And suddenly both combatants vanished and there was a hole in the wall.

On the other side of the wall, Brain II gritted his teeth. He had caught both of Ariel's fists with his hands and the two were struggling against each other. "Not bad," he offered.

A smile tugged at Ariel's lips. "You flatter me,"

"I think I'd rather _flatten_ you," her enemy snidely remarked, elbowing the wall behind him. Red light flashed up the wall and into the ceiling above them, which suddenly cracked and a massive chunk fell from the ceiling, directly towards Ariel's head.

With no recourse, Ariel leapt away and the debris hit the ground between them. Instantly, the Phoenix leapt on top of it, staring at the crevice that Brain II should be in, but he was gone.

"Looking for me?" Suddenly Ariel was thrown sideways, sending her stumbling away, into the bowels of the Infinity Castle. Brain II pursued her with hands like knives, a wicked smile gracing his black lips. Ariel brought up her arms in a cross to block the blow. Her attacker grinned, knowing he could break through - but winced as their arms met and took another look.

Shoving him away, the Phoenix smiled as light glinted off the blue crystals that had encased her arms, before they dissipated into fragments of light that vanished into the ethernano.

"So, it's as I suspected. You're an emissary of Cardi -"

"Don't say his name!" Ariel spat, charging forwards and punching his chest, her fist flashing with a strange blue power. Strangest of all, there was no magic circle; she wasn't using a spell. Brain II was knocked back by the recoil, but he smiled. "Oh? Did I strike a nerve?"

Tense, Ariel restrained her temper. "The likes of you have no right to dirty his name with your lips," she spat.

"How romantic," the other wizard shot her a sickly sweet smile. A vein pulsed in Ariel's forehead. "Unfortunately, it won't matter. Phoenix's Eye must be destroyed, and you, above all else, are my highest priority. You should feel honoured,"

"I don't know what you intend to do," Ariel off-handedly remarked, slowly advancing. "I can't die, remember?"

"Neither can I," Brain II pinched his nose. "But I can get rid of you,"

"I'd like to see you try," the water witch smirked, folding her arms.

The man charged again, and Ariel blocked again, an interwoven crystal matrix forging a shield between them. But she had misjudged Brain II's intention; instead of struggling against her, he lifted the barrier, with her attached, into the air and shield bashed her against the wall with her own defence. Ariel winced. That hurt.

"Disappear," he hissed at her as the shield shattered and, with lightning reflexes, Brain II pinned her throat with his left hand.

Ariel stared at him skeptically. "Are you seriously trying to _strangle_ me?"

"No," A pulse of red energy built in his other hand, and the Och leader smiled darkly. "I just need you to hold still. Genesis . ." he murmured, building Zero's spell.

"Oh," Ariel absently commented, her brain working furiously as her mouth ran on autopilot. "That would do it," Genesis Zero banished its target to an otherdimensional void for all eternity. It wouldn't kill her, though. So it took advantage of her only weakness. His grip was too strong, she couldn't move her head in any direction that he was restricting her . . . but there was one direction that he wasn't stopping her.

"Bye bye," she smiled, before slamming her fists into the wall behind her. Glowing blue cracks, more circle-less magic, spread through the structure, and the obstacle shattered, letting her fall backwards. Shocked, Brain II released the half-formed Genesis Zero spell, and it exploded above her head. The Phoenix smiled as she hit the ground below.

"Hold still!" the dark-haired boy commanded, leaning out with a furious expression on his face and building another Genesis Zero.

A bubble of water exploded in his face.

As droplets ran down his cheek and dripped out of his hair, he shot Ariel an unimpressed look as she picked herself up. "Are you serious?"

"What can I say? Being in Phoenix's Eye has taught me a few things. Can you say the same about your guild?" she challenged, skipping backwards and twirling her fountain pen between her fingers.

"We've learned plenty from the Neo Oracion Och," her foe retorted, jumping down. "The principles of sacrifice, for one thing," He looked down, holding still and poised. The Phoenix watched him warily. "I heard about that. I suppose it's a running theme. Did you sacrifice anything?"

Ariel tensed as he looked up - and reflexively swallowed.

Swirling red lights were playing over Brain II's eyes. He hissed, striding forwards with arms outstretched and bent. "I sacrificed _myself_ ,"

"How can you be linked in here?" Ariel demanded, looking around at the walls of the Infinity Castle. "You shouldn't have any bars at all!"

"You have no idea what we're capable of," the boy smirked, casting with speed far greater than he had previously possessed. "Genesis Zero!"

Ariel narrowly avoided it, launching a stream of water from her fountain pen, infused with the strange crystals, to deflect the blast. She frowned, thinking furiously. If he was linked, then they had to be in an area of the Infinity Castle where the magic was weak. Like the outermost rooms. Which meant . . She glanced at the hole they had come through, and eyed the slanted wall opposite it. That had to be the outer wall of the giant fish. If she could just get outside . . then she could use her real power.

"Come on. Fight me. Once I dispatch you and kill the rest of your guild, the world will be plunged into endless chaos and we will be victorious! So why delay the inevitable?" Brain II crowed, launching a weaker blast of dark magic at her. Ariel somersaulted out of the way, pressing herself against the far wall. "You're right," she nodded. "It is inevitable. Go ahead. Hit me with your best shot,"

Brain II smiled. "I'm glad you can accept the logic. Dark Rondo!" he threw both hands forward and launched a barrage of screeching souls, all aiming directly towards Ariel.

The Phoenix shook her head. "That's the problem with your lot. You can't think outside the box!" she exclaimed and dodged again, throwing up a shield of water to protect herself from the blast radius as the magic exploded against the wall, punching straight through it.

The sudden pressure differential between the inside and the outside caused the air in the room to be sucked outwards into the upper stratosphere. Ariel didn't resist, letting herself be pulled into the sky. Brain II barely even realised what was happening before he followed suit.

Ariel span, sending her dress billowing around her before throwing her arms out and manifesting a platform of blue crystal that she landed on. For his part, her enemy hung in mid-air, suspended by a self-generated updraft. "Not bad. But I don't see what this accomplishes. Even without the Infinity Castle, my power far surpasses yours,"

Ariel smiled as the clouds around her began to billow and circle, congregating on her position. They darkened, funnelling towards her and forming an inverted cone with the Phoenix at its epicentre. "You still don't understand who you're dealing with, do you?" she questioned, folding her arms and tucking her pen behind her ear.

"You're an emissary of Car-"

"Don't say his name!" Ariel suddenly snapped, and the building storm crackled with blue light to match her brief surge of anger.

Brain II, for his part, maintained his composure. "What else do I need to know?" he shrugged disdainfully.

"My name is Ariel Nagato," the bluenette informed him, eyes glittering with menacing blue lights.

Her target stiffened. ". . You're a Nagato?" he murmured in sudden horror, looking at what she was doing with new eyes. "But then . . are you . . ?"

The storm billowed and roared, its rotations accelerating as it crackled with electricity and generated an unearthly blue light. Even though the clouds hid her, Ariel smiled.

She raised a hand, glowing with blue light, and plunged it into the maelstrom.

Brain stared in horror. "You can summon . . the storm . ."

 **"Storm Access!"** Ariel commanded, and lightning flashed through the whirling blue clouds like a spiderweb, reaching out to the farthest corners and congregating power in her hand. She withdrew it, and with it, pulled a long, shining rod made of palladium, ending in three prongs; the outer two bending in towards the centre.

The clouds around her parted as she pulled back her arm and took aim at Brain II, who was frozen in fear, and spoke clearly. "Return to your master," she hissed, before throwing the trident. Her aim was straight and true, and the meagre shield that Brain II mustered was useless as the weapon smashed it into fragments and cut straight through his body. The man screamed as red light shone from his every pore.

And then he was just gone.

The storm Ariel had summoned started to disperse, and the Phoenix breathed heavily. "That takes care of that. Now, with any luck, Fairy Tail can handle the rest,"

She paused, realising that she was relying on Natsu Dragneel. ". . I'll keep an eye on things, just in case," Ariel nodded to herself, before launching herself back down to the Infinity Castle.

-[CoT]-

It was around now that Pierce, Kinana, Erik and Erza reached the central room of the Infinity Castle. Upon their arrival, they saw Imitatia lying, unconscious and singed, at the foot of the steps. A battered Klodoa lay nearby. At the far end of the room, Natsu and Elfmam were fruitlessly battering against the amber chamber that held Lucy prisoner. Coco and Romeo watched, the latter occasionally throwing Natsu a snack to keep his strength up.

Natsu paused, looking down at them. "Natsu. What's going on?" Erza asked.

With a flying leap, the Dragon Slayer came to meet them. "Well, we kicked the fake Michelle's butt," he gestured at Imitatia, "but the damn thing won't let Lucy go,"

"Where's the leader? Macbeth?" Pierce asked.

"I dunno. Your friend with the blue hair was here. She lured him away so we could free Lucy," Natsu retorted. "Speaking of which, mind giving us a hand?" he demanded, gesturing to the Celestial wizard trapped in the magicalised amber.

"Friend with the blue hair," Pierce repeated, remembering Natsu's apparent inability to remember the name of anyone in Phoenix's Eye. "Tyria?"

"Uh, maybe? I dunno," Natsu shrugged, before focusing on Erik. "Hold on, aren't you a bad guy?"

"No, he's on our side now, thanks to Pierce," Erza assured him.

Natsu nodded. "Oh. Alright then," A second passed, and his brow furrowed. "Who's Pierce?"

The Beast Tamer in question facepalmed. "You are _not_ serious," But he rapidly realised his priority. "If Tyria's here and fighting Macbeth, all alone, she needs my help. Which way did they go?"

"That way," the Fairy assure him, gesturing to the hole in the wall. Nodding his thanks, Pierce charged towards the hole.

"Wait up, I'll come and help," Erik called, pursuing. After a moment's consideration, Kinana followed them.

Right after they left the room, Imitatia flashed with white light and vanished, transforming into a small, stuffed doll. Without Brain II's power maintaining her, the Personification Magic dried up. "Hey. She turned into a toy," Romeo observed, confused.

-[CoT]-

Tracking the battle, the three Phoenixes soon found themselves at the hole Brain II had just blasted into the side of the Infinity Castle. "Oh, no," Pierce moaned - but then he saw Aluze landing in the countryside. "They're down there!" he exclaimed, producing his flute and hastily summoning Raya. The phoenix had barely even materialised before Pierce was clinging to her back. "Get us down there, now!" he commanded, worry creeping into his voice.

Realising he was concerned about his girlfriend, Raya nodded, before regarding Erik and Kinana. "All aboard," she squawked, raising her wings. The other two hastily grabbed on after Pierce as Raya leapt through the hole. With all the excess weight, she couldn't fly properly, but as their destination was below them it was enough to simply glide in a controlled fall towards where Aluze had landed.

Within minutes, they were there. He hadn't recognised it at first, but they were right near where the guild hall was supposed to be. But Pierce had no time for that, rushing over to Aluze - and stiffening as he saw Donna and Sarph unconscious on the ground. Artorias, Grace, Lync and Sif hovered over them.

"What happened?" the Tamer immediately questioned.

"There was a weird shadow guy who ate their magic. We beat him, but they're totally out of it so we figured we should bring them back," Grace explained.

"I still think we should go back up there," Artorias frowned at Lync, who shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Did you see that massive electric twister that formed a few minutes ago up there? I am not flying Aluze into that storm. He'd be turned to scrap,"

"Have any of you seen Tyria?" Pierce cut through the conversation.

The other Phoenixes looked at each other, before each shook their heads. "No. Why?"

"Because our old friend Natsu said he saw her up in the giant fish, and that she was fighting the Oracion Och's leader," Pierce explained. Everyone looked concerned at that.

Behind them, though, they heard something whir, and Pierce spun to see a familiar-looking silver/blue hover-cycle approach. "Tyria!" he exclaimed in relief as the dark-skinned girl pulled up and landed. The other Phoenix was taken by surprise as Pierce pulled her in for a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright,"

"Well, sure," she nodded, awkwardly returning the hug. "Did something happen?" she asked, looking over his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw Sarph and Donna's condition. "Oh, no, what happened?"

"It's just exhaustion and magic draining. They'll be fine," Artorias assured her.

"Nevermind that. I met Natsu up in that big thing, and he said that you were there and you'd lured the Oracion Och's leader away to fight him one on one," Pierce finished the recap.

Tyria blinked in surprise. "Well, I definitely didn't do that. I've been down here with the others, trying to break those chains," She gestured at the guild hall's site, where a broken link was protruding from the ground.

Grace suddenly remembered the fight against Goliath; she had been unconscious during the fight, but with the aid of the Sempiternal Phoenix had travelled back in time and aided the past versions of her friends. This sounded familiar. "Does this mean we're going to time travel again in the future?"

Everyone looked at her oddly as they considered this possibility. "It doesn't sound likely, but I would have said that the first time it happened, too," Artorias mused.

"Well, that's a concern for the future. What's important is, you're here and you're safe," Pierce smiled at Tyria, who returned the expression.

The couple promptly went in for a passionate kiss, and Grace covered her eyes. "God, bro, do you have to do that in front of everyone?"

The moment was interrupted as, above them, the Infinity Castle exploded. The Phoenixes looked up, worried, but seeing the looming spectre be destroyed, they grinned. "I guess Fairy Tail did it," Erik observed, and Phoenix's Eye grumbled good-naturedly at this.

There was a flash of light, and everyone hastily averted their eyes. But when the disruption ended, they looked back across the field and saw the Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall, exactly as it had been before the Infinity Clock erased it.

"Master!" Pierce exclaimed, and led the charge back inside. Everyone followed, all worried about the fate of Master Feng and Ariel.

The doors swung open as they approached, and a dizzy bluenette emerged, looking around. "Huh? What happened?" Ariel questioned, faking confusion.

"It's a long story," Pierce assured her, steadying the water witch. "Artorias, go check on Master," The Blood Wizard nodded, tearing towards the upper level and the door that led into the Guild Master's office.

He passed through the sitting room, racing up the stairs to the study. He was about to head on up to the penultimate room, but stopped, eyeing the desk.

Feng Chriona, the Guild Master of Phoenix's Eye, was slumped, asleep, on her desk, amidst a pile of paperwork, with drool trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Artorias thought that, given the situation, invoking some of Lync's disdain for their master was entirely appropriate. He took a deep breath. "Wake up you batty old hag!" he shouted, causing the wrinkly Guild Master to start and rear up, looking around wildly. The Blood Wizard clutched his throat, trying to massage his aching vocal chords. There was a reason he didn't shout much.

"Huh - wha - what happened?" Feng started and woke up, looking around frantically. "Oh. Good morning, Artorias. Is something wrong?"

Artorias coughed, before sweatdropping and murmuring, "You just slept through a temporal crisis and you didn't even notice," His voice petered off at the end, and he continued to rub his throat.

"What crisis?" she questioned.

Her guildmate just pointed at the stairs and used his hand to mime talking, before heading back downstairs. He was pretty sure that Sarah had some throat lozenges in the bar . .

-[CoT]-

It wasn't long until the membership of the guild had congregated in the guild hall. Kenzie Black, along with a pair of crewmates of hers she had introduced as Lance Hellhunter and Shelley Tulip, were present, having instructed the rest of her pirates to work on repairing the _Fowl Iris_ , which had taken a bit of a beating during the brief crisis.

Eve and Blanca were sitting with Ariel, helping the witch recover. Of course, Ariel was faking her affliction, but they couldn't know that. And both of them felt quite fond of their new friend, though they couldn't quite determine why.

No one really knew what to say about the events that had just transpired. It had happened; the world had almost ended . . but what had they done, really? Defeated three (or four) of the eight members of the Och? And left everything else up to Fairy Tail? That wasn't something to be proud of. Not for Phoenix's Eye.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and a familiar face strode in. Everyone went quiet as Lahar looked around, and his eyes settled on Team Pierce's table, where Erik and Kinana had joined them.

Pierce nodded courteously, and Lahar cast him a glance. "Good afternoon, everyone. I'm sorry, but I have no time for pleasantries. I'm sure you can guess why I'm here," he gestured to Erik.

Erik sighed, nodded, and stood up. "I understand. I won't resist," Lahar smiled gratefully, and made to handcuff Erik's outstretched wrists, before Kinana piped up. "Wait!"

Everyone looked at her in surprise, but she wasn't done. "He's not bad now! He helped us! He helped me! He - he even erased his guild mark! Can't you do anything?"

Lahar blinked. "You erased your guild mark?" he sharply asked Erik, who nodded confirmation and pulled open his shirt to prove it. The skin on his chest was bare.

The councilman thought to himself. He looked around at the expressions on Erik and the Phoenixes' faces. His words from six years ago echoed in his ears;

 _-[CoT]-_

 _"Do you really think he can change?"_

 _Pierce raised an eyebrow. "Erik? Sure I do. In fact, I think he already is,"_

 _"I hope that you're right," Lahar nodded. "It would make me very happy to see a dark wizard truly reform,"_

 _"Oh yeah?" Pierce pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows, and the older man sighed. "Did you know that, out of the six hundred thousand or so wizards in Fiore, forty-eight percent of them are criminals?"_

 _Pierce looked at him in surprise. "Forty-eight . . seriously?"_

 _"It's not a statistic that we like to advertise much," Lahar shrugged. "But yes. And most of them aren't even bad people, they just fall in with the wrong crowd and by the time they realise they're on a dark path, it's too late to back out,"_

 _"That's a depressing thought," the Tamer admitted._

 _"Indeed. Therefore, the idea that even one dark wizard, especially a famous one such as Cobra, or Erik as you know him, could reform and join the light? It would set an example, it would show the world that no one is truly irredeemable," his companion nodded. "I just hope that you're right about him,"_

 _"Me too," Pierce agreed._

 _-[CoT]-_

"Pierce," Lahar addressed the group's de facto leader directly. "Do you still think he can change?"

Pierce immediately knew where this was going. After all, it had been only two months since that conversation for him. "I think he already is,"

"Look. I dunno if what I say will make any difference here, but when I thought Phoenix's Eye was dead, I was in a bad place. I wanted to destroy the world that had taken everything I cared about away. But now that I know they're alive . ." Erik trailed off and shrugged.

The council enforcer pursed his lips, and considered this. "Well . . maybe with a plea of insanity . . an extended term of probation . ." The Phoenixes' eyes brightened, and Lahar ruefully smiled. "I won't promise anything. After all, Cobra has been involved in _two_ plots to destroy the world now. That won't go over well in a trial," He sighed. "But I will see what I can do. Provided two things,"

"Anything," Pierce assured him.

"I remember that, before all of you vanished six years ago, Phoenix's Eye had a rather . . rambunctious," he settled on, "reputation, and a habit of causing trouble for the Magic Council," He shivered, remembering the paperwork he had had to go through after the Ghoulia incident. "I don't want to see that become the status quo again,"

"We'll try to keep it quiet," Tyria weighed in, and everyone nodded.

"Does this mean no more bar brawls?" Totomaru whispered, and Wesley shrugged. "It means _less_ bar brawls,"

"And secondly, if there's any chance of alleviating Cobra's sentence, it needs to be done through the proper processes," Lahar explained. "Which means that I still need to take him into custody until everything can be sorted out and a date set for the appeal in court,"

Grace looked like she wanted to protest, but Pierce shook his head imperceptibly. "I can deal with that. I lasted six years, what's another month or two?" Erik shrugged.

"And in the meantime, we'll make sure to visit," Pierce assured him. Kinana eagerly nodded her approval of this resolution, and the Dragon Slayer smiled. "Alright," He offered his wrists. "I'm ready,"

As Lahar led him away, Erik turned and smiled back at the group. "I'll see you all later,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Intense chapter, huh. Poor Ariel, being stuck in the guild hall, unable to do anything.**

 **And I assure you, we will see Erik again. Eventually. Peace!**

-[CoT]-

In the middle of nowhere, a door of light opened, and Brain II emerged. "For the eternal dominion of the Canopy," he saluted someone on the other side of the door, before it disappeared.

Looking around, he soon spotted a crater where a chunk of debris from the Infinity Clock had fallen and, after scuffing himself up with some dirt and grime, lay down next to the wreckage. Now, to pretend to be unconscious until the Magic Council found him and took him into custody.

Brain II quietly smiled to himself. "Everything is going according to plan,"


	23. Family

Chapter 93: Family

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _Pierce emerged from this wormhole and found himself floating in a tunnel of multicoloured light. "Where am I now?" he asked, looking around - and blanched._

 _Some kind of massive metal spaceship, glistening with colourful lights and trailing smoke, was pitching, out of control, towards him. He screamed as it approached, and frantically started swimming in mid-air, spotting the wormhole beneath him and hoping that he could reach it before the massive machine hit him. But he wasn't fast enough, and it spiralled towards Pierce, who screwed his eyes shut and waited for the end._

 _The ship spiralled past him._

 _Pierce opened his eyes and watched it sail away into the distance, shedding smoke and debris. A chunk of which hit him in the stomach. "Ouch!" he gasped, looking down and snatching the object that had hit him. He frowned, inspecting it. It was some kind of metal egg with a jagged pattern running along it. Shrugging, he tucked it into the pocket of his «Flame-Licked Parka» and resumed swimming back into the wormhole._

 _-[CoT]-_

Donna was confused.

"I don't get it," she confessed. "I talked to that Jean-Luc Neville guy who was at Fairy Tail. The archaeologist. 'Time ticks forward, on towards inevitable chaos.' They said they'd never heard of it, but the Fairies told me Zentopia's archbishop had been saying it in his sleep. Or whatever was going on with him. It doesn't make any sense. What's the connection between Lycurgus' most trusted informant betraying him and some church bigwig?"

"I don't know," Artorias admitted. "Well, other than the obvious,"

"What obvious?" the Celestial wizard questioned, tapping her foot impatiently.

"The nomenclature. _Clock_ work. The Infinity _Clock_. That's a connection," the Blood Wizard explained.

"Well, yeah. But what does it mean?" Donna asked. "I thought that solving that phrase would have answers. But it's just opened up more questions!" she growled in frustration.

"Maybe you're overthinking it," Ariel suggested, sitting nearby her.

"What do you mean by that?" Donna huffed, folding her arms.

"Maybe Clockwork knew about the Infinity Clock. Maybe he said that to Alice, knowing that she'd pass it on to you, as a red herring, so that you'd be focused on that and not realise his real objective," the other bluenette reasoned.

"I . . huh," Donna mused, thinking this over.

"So, Artorias. What are you going to do for training during the three months until the Grand Magic Games?" Ariel asked, spontaneously changing the subject.

"Pardon?" the Blood wizard frowned.

"I've been hearing a lot of talk going around the guild about stuff like that," Ariel shrugged nonchalantly. "It started with Tyria deciding that she needed to go back to Electria to see how her friends back home have been doing the last six years. And because apparently she thinks training with some guy called Atsphuria is the best way to prepare for the Grand Magic Games. Then Alice and Lync decided they wanted to go with her for the same reasons,"

"Makes sense," Artorias agreed.

"And now everyone seems to have the same idea," the receptionist shrugged.

"Really," the Blood wizard mused.

"Well, I want to dig up some old stuff from Kairos End anyway. If Ariel's right, there might be some clues in our old hideouts," Donna mused, before looking up at Artorias. "Of course, it might be dangerous. I might need backup,"

"How dangerous?" Artorias immediately asked, and a small smile played across the Celestial Wizard's face. "Life-threatening,"

"I'm in," the teenager nodded his approval. "I won't slack off while everyone else is training hard. And this sounds like as good a way to do that as any,"

Ariel smiled. "I wish you two the best," she assured them, before moving away with a smile of satisfaction.

-[CoT]-

The following day, Team Pierce gathered together at the train station, as well as some of their other friends from the guild; Kinana, Artorias, Donna, Lync and Alice.

"You really have to go?" Grace morosely questioned.

"Yeah . . I'm sorry, but if I'm going to get stronger for the Grand Magic Games, going back to Electria and seeing Headmaster Atsphuria again is the best way to go about it," Tyria apologised. There was also something urgent she needed to talk to him about in the interim.

"And it's been too long as it is," Lync agreed, carrying his own bags. "Six years . . whatever the current state of Electria is, we need to find out,"

"Don't worry, though. We'll definitely be back by the time the Games roll around. It's only three months, after all," Alice assured her friends.

Tyria and Pierce shared a look. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "We only got together a few weeks ago and now I'm leaving for months on end,"

"Hey, don't worry about it," the Tamer reassured her. "I'll be here, waiting. So take all the time you need," he grinned.

The Electrian pulled him into a last hug, and their lips met, a shared, passionate kiss.

The train whistle blew, and Lync started. "Crap, we gotta get moving!" he declared, shoving his and Alice's bags onto the train as the two lovers broke apart.

"You mean you lot are still here?" Hare scoffed, but there was a warm undertone to her malice.

"I'm really gonna miss you. You've been a good influence on Pierce," Kit admitted from where he was trailing at Pierce's feet.

"Don't be strangers, okay Sarph?" Alice commanded, and the knight grinned and nodded. "As long as you bring me plenty of souvenirs!"

"You and your knick-knacks," Hare huffed.

Artorias quietly waved as the doors slid shut, and the train started to pull away from the station.

"We'll see you all soon," Pierce grinned as their friends departed. "So make sure the three of you all get really powerful while you're gone!"

But soon, the train was gone.

"Our train will be leaving soon too," Donna pointed out, and Artorias nodded.

"Do you really need to get stronger, Artorias? I'd kind of like to catch up with you one of these days," Pierce joked, and Artorias shot him a playful smile. "In your dreams, maybe,"

"Aren't you planning a training trip yourself?" Sarph asked, and Pierce nodded. "Yeah. Me and Grace are going back to Mount Zheng. Up in those lonely mountains, Grace can unleash her full power without worrying about anyone getting caught in the crossfire. And I know Cor's worried about his friends too,"

"Understandable. And I suppose having a demigoddess on hand to heal any injuries you may sustain while training would be handy," the Knight nodded.

"I like those mountains, too," Grace agreed. "Though I'm not sure how we're going to get up there without the Garuda,"

"We'll think of something," Kinana assured them. "And don't forget that I'm coming too,"

"Why?" Sarph frowned. "Not to be blunt, but . . you can't use magic," After all, the Sempiternal Phoenix had erased all magic from Kinana's body. She couldn't use even the most basic of magic objects, and it was anyone's guess whether she ever would.

"No. But Pierce plans to visit Erik every month, and I'm going with him for that," the purplette pointed out, and the Tamer nodded.

"That's understandable. When do you leave?" Sarph asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Tomorrow," Pierce shrugged.

"I see," the man nodded, turning to Boomer and Hare. "Are you two planning to go anywhere to train?"

Hare shrugged. "I can run on walls. And Alice ran some numbers; when I ran from Arun to Swilvane, I was running at around _seven hundred_ miles per hour. I don't think anything's that fast,"

"The Sonic Boom could be," Boomer huffed.

"I doubt that very much," Hare acidly retorted.

"You just wait. Astro's got her in the shop right now, and he's had a lot of ideas over the last six years. When he's done, she'll be faster than sound itself," Boomer declared.

Hare shrugged. "I'm sure I could top that,"

"So you two are staying here?" Sarph asked hopefully.

The Sylph regarded him, and shook her head. "Nope. Speed magic isn't my only trick anymore, remember? I need to learn to use my natural Alfheimic Wind Magic too. It's a power that I've never used more than basically before. But if we're gonna win, I'm gonna need it,"

"But you can't sail all the way back to Alfheim," Sarph protested. "And you can't run that far, either,"

"Maybe not," Hare admitted. "But before we left, I got this," she declared with a smile, and held up a small leather book. "It's a Wind Magic spellbook. It's got everything I need to master Alfheimic Wind Magic. And if I'm gonna do this, I need privacy. And the right environment, too. There was a place I went to on a job a while back; it's probably still there,"

"I see," Sarph nodded. "When do you leave?"

"Eh, I dunno. As soon as all my shit's together,"

"Same here," Boomer shrugged. "I know a place near Ghoulia. Lots of natural walls, perfect to bounce sound off. It'll be perfect for training,"

Sarph nodded, sighing. ". . Alright," he agreed. "You do what you have to,"

"Don't you have to learn those Sword Skills, too? With «Tenshi Meiyo»?" Boomer asked, and the knight nodded, regarding his sword. "I suppose so, true. But I don't really need to go anywhere for that . . I just can't believe you're all leaving,"

Grace suddenly leapt forward and hugged him. "Don't worry. We'll all see each other again at the Grand Magic Games. And then the strongest of us all will get to compete for the whole guild,"

The Archive wizard grinned. "Well, it's going to be me,"

"And me," the Dragon Slayer retorted.

"Definitely me," the Blood Wizard interjected.

"You can count on me and my beasts," the Beast Tamer assured his team.

"I'll leave you all in the dust," the Sound wizard grinned.

"As if I'd let you lot show me up," the Speed witch huffed.

"Then it's settled," Pierce grinned. "In three months, we'll all meet in Crocus. And whoever's improved the least buys everyone else lunch,"

"No no no. You are not making me pay for that bottomless pit of a sibling you have again," Hare growled.

-[CoT]-

"Pierce!" Eve burst out when Pierce and Grace arrived at the guild hall the next morning for breakfast; to have breakfast and say their goodbyes.

"Yeah, Eve?" the Tamer asked.

"I heard that you were going back to Mount Zheng, to train with the Divine Caladrius?" the Snow wizard questioned.

"Yep," Grace confirmed, and Pierce nodded. "That's right,"

"C-can I come with you?" Eve asked. "I . . want to see her again,"

Pierce blinked in surprise. "Sure," he agreed immediately. "You want to get stronger too, huh?"

Eve nodded. "I fought off three of Alfheim's greatest assassins with her help," she grinned at the memory, and raised her wand with the three feathers set into it. "If I can do that with her power, then I need more,"

The Tamer frowned thoughtfully. "Well, alright then," he agreed. "Get your things, we're catching a train north at ten o'clock,"

"Right!" Eve agreed.

"Hey, Grace?" The young Dragon Slayer's attention was caught by Sarah, who was carrying a small crate.

The greenette eyed the box in curiosity. "What's in there?"

"Well, I know how much you like my sausage sandwiches, and that you'll be away for a while, so," The bartender dropped it on a seat and lifted the lid. Grace peered inside, and her eyes widened.

It was stacked full of Sarah's Sausage Sandwich Specials, wrapped in foil to preserve them. "I know with your metabolism, these will probably only last a couple of weeks, but I hope they'll remind you of home while you're off getting -" Sarah was cut off as Grace suddenly hugged her, beaming with delight. "Thank you so much!"

-[CoT]-

One train ride later, the four Phoenixes were at the base of the mountain. "So, it's up there," Kinana murmured, looking at the mountain peaks, high above.

"This was easier with the Garuda," Grace agreed, feeling nostalgic for their old airship.

"Do you think you could bend space between here and the top of the mountain?" Pierce wondered, and Grace considered this. "I can try," she agreed, before glaring at the mountain and willing it to come _closer_. The air rippled before them, and she screwed up her face, raising her arms. After a moment, the rift stabilised, and, tentatively, Grace poked her head into it.

She found herself suspended in mid-air, about halfway to the mountain.

"No go," she reported to her brother with a sigh.

Pierce nodded, shrugging philosophically. "Think you have it in you to run there? With that skywalk ability?"

"Easily," Grace agreed. It wasn't difficult, skywalking was pretty easy on her magic reserves. Though, to be fair, her ethernano storage capacity was almost infinite, and she couldn't even think of a time when she'd run out of magic. Physical energy, sure, but not _magic_.

"Alright," Pierce Requipped his flute. "Victoria? Could you come and help out please?" he asked aloud. Barely a minute later, a giant, anthropomorphic queen bee heaved her way out of the flute. "Alright. Who needzzzzzzz a lift?" Victoria asked, looking around.

"Eve, are you alright with flying with Victoria?" Pierce suggested, and the Celestial witch nodded. "Great," the Beast Tamer grinned, before playing the tune that summoned Raya, knowing that she could carry him and Kinana. It wasn't long before the group was in the air.

-[CoT]-

Raya had barely set down at the end of the flight before Cor erupted from the flute with a flash and excitedly looked around.

"Is it good to be home?" Pierce asked knowingly, and the ruby-scaled qilin nodded. "You betcha!"

Pierce recalled Victoria and Raya, and summoned Kit, just as a matronly qilin approached. "Cor! You're returned!" she gasped, before looking up. "And you've brought friends!"

"Ahm . ." Cor suddenly looked a little embarrassed. His tail twitched, the black mane running down his body shivering. "Hello, Aunt Diane," The newcomer was coated with topaz-coloured jewels, with padded claws and stumpy, blunt talons. A bright pink mane ran from her head to her tail.

"You have an aunt?" Grace asked in surprise.

"Sorta. We qilins are raised communally. Diane's one of our caretakers, and she took care of me as a chick," the qilin explained, before the larger female suddenly pounced on him, forcing his head down, and affectionately clucked over him. "And I never stopped. Now, have you been eating properly? Keeping yourself groomed? I know how you boys get,"

"Diaaaaaaa-ne!" Cor protested, trying to pull away from the matronly qilin and preserve his dignity.

Pierce, Grace and Kinana exchanged nervous glances. After all, Pierce had never known his mother - he was reasonably certain that his father had had his way with any number of tavern wenches, and the less said about that the better. And Kinana and Grace respectively were both suffering from memory loss. Among their motley crew, Eve was the only one who had ever known her mother, a fact that was not lost on any member of the group as an awkward silence descended.

"Oh, but what am I thinking? I haven't even said hello to your friends yet. And what lovely specimens they are, too!" Aunt Diane suddenly abandoned her charge and started almost critically eyeing up the four humans and nodding in approval. "Oh, I certainly like this one," she smiled in approval, eyeing Pierce with satisfaction. "Strong build, nice and tanned, certainly has the makings of a fine king. You've chosen well, Cor," she nodded in approval.

Pierce grinned at the praise - until a certain word sunk in. "Hold on. King?" he repeated in confusion, but Aunt Diane had already moved on. "And these two must be his personal maids. Quite the lookers, I'll admit, for humans at any rate," she nodded at Eve and Kinana, who looked like they were uncertain of how flattered they should be. "Um . . thanks?" Kinana mustered.

"And I suppose this must be the young princess. It's certainly very brave of you to accompany your older broth - wait. Have I seen you before?" the topaz qilin frowned in curiosity, trying to work out why Grace looked so familiar.

"Um . . maybe?" the Dragon Slayer shrugged. She had been here before, after all. During the fight against Pierce's father and his hunter's guild, Severed Tusk. She'd even discovered a new Secret Art during the fight against Kroeber, when she'd been trying to free all of the qilins in cages - _oh_. "Oh, wait, I know! You probably remember me from when I got all the qilins in the village out of Severed Tusk's cages!"

Aunt Diane paused. "What? But . . that was a bunch of guild wizards,"

"Well, yeah," Grace nodded, pulling up her skirt to show her guild mark on her thigh. Eve and Kinana's both showed theirs, and Pierce raised the back of his hand to reveal his own.

"What? But if you're guild wizards, then how can you be royalty . ." Aunt Diane trailed off in confusion, thinking to herself.

Pierce blinked, before inching over to Cor. "Why does she think that I'm a prince?" he whispered to his friend.

Cor chuckled nervously, and whispered; "Well . . traditionally, qilins are only supposed to leave home . . in order to serve as advisors to the most just and righteous kings in the world," he admitted.

Pierce blinked as he processed this. "Um . . oh,"

"Oh, I understand now!" Aunt Diane snapped her claws together in realisation. "You wanted to gain a better understanding of your future subjects, so you reduced yourselves to the level of common wizards in order to become closer to your fellow man!"

Everyone sweatdropped at this. "Um . . actually," Grace started, but after his beast shot him a pleading glance, Pierce cut her off. "Yeah, that's exactly how it is,"

"Oh, how wonderful. I'm so proud of you!" Aunt Diane exclaimed, beaming at Cor.

"But right now, we're on a three-month pilgrimage so that we'll be strong enough to enter an event called the Grand Magic Games. If we can win, we'll earn a lot of money and prestige. But we needed a place to train, and Cor suggested we return to his home,"

"And these mountains are perfect!" Grace added enthusiastically.

"Ooooh," Delight sparkled in Aunt Diane's eyes. "I see! Well then, I'll smooth everything over for you. Don't worry about a thing, just focus on your training, and I'll take care of everything else!" she declared.

"Um . . also, could we possibly see the Caladrius again?" Eve interjected.

Aunt Diane raised an eyebrow. "Of course. She always accepts visitors. You go on ahead, I'll sort everything out with accomodations for you,"

"Great. Thanks so much," Pierce grinned, and the matronly qilin nodded in approval. "Follow me!"

-[CoT]-

Kinana gasped.

The other three had met the Divine Caladrius in the central room of her shrine, perched atop a hill and overlooking Qilin Vilage as it was, before, when Severed Tusk had attacked them. They were accustomed to her sheer radiance by this point.

But Kinana had no idea what to expect. So when she first entered the ornate room, made of perfectly cut marble with gold leaf emblazoned in ornate patterns, she was taken aback by the sheer majesty of the massive white bird, with her long, golden beak, slightly hooked at the end, her massive, drooping fan of tailfeathers spread around the large, stone perch, and the soft, assured lines of her near-perpetually closed eyes, she was amazed. "So pretty," she murmured.

The demigoddess smiled down at the four Phoenixes, and as if by magic they all felt their spirits lifted. "It's a pleasure to meet with the illustrious wizards of Phoenix's Eye once again," Even though her beak did not move, the serene words echoed through the room. "And it pleases me to see that you have joined them, Cor," she added, addressing the ruby qilin.

"The pleasure is ours, Caladrius," Pierce inclined his head respectfully.

"I believe that I heard something about you all hoping to train here in preparation for some manner of magical sporting event?" the great bird asked for confirmation.

"Yep! Is that alright?" Grace got straight to the point.

"Of course. After the aid you rendered for us six years ago, you and your friends shall always be welcome in my mountains," the Divine Caladrius assured the Phoenixes. "As long as you cause a minimum of trouble for my subjects, you may have the run of the place. I hope that all six of you find the next three months productive,"

The Phoenixes grinned at this permission - but then Pierce noticed something. "Wait . . there's only five of us," he frowned, looking around and half-expecting Blanca or someone to appear and admit that thy had stowed away with them.

"Oh?" The Caladrius cocked her head in minor confusion. "No. One, two, three, four, five, six," she counted, gesturing to each member with her beak . . and gesturing to Pierce twice.

"You . . counted me twice," the Tamer frowned, quietly wondering if the Caladrius had gotten old enough to be going senile.

"No. I counted you, and I counted the small being inside your jacket," the demigoddess clarified, the lines around her closed eyes wrinkling.

Now it was Pierce's turn to be confused. "Huh? But there isn't anything inside my jacket," he frowned, feeling inside - and then he found it. The metal egg with the tiny picture sealed inside that he had found in the Nexus. "Wait, do you mean this?" the blond asked, holding up the egg, before depressing the hidden release button and revealing the small image of a dragon-like creature.

Sure enough, the Caladrius nodded. "Indeed I do, but I understand now. That poor creature is under a curse," she observed, worry replacing the confusion.

Everyone was surprised at this. "A curse?" Pierce parroted, looking at the small piece of cardboard in confusion. It was a very realistic picture . . could it be? "What kind of spell would do something like that - no, not important. Can you break it?" he asked, a sudden urgency to his actions. If a beast was in danger, it was his duty to help out.

"Of course. Hold it up," the Caladrius commanded, leaning forward and bringing her massive head down towards Pierce as he obligingly held the card up to her face.

Slowly, gracefully, the Divine Caladrius opened her eyes.

The nature of her powers echoed through the Phoenixes' memories; the Divine Caladrius had the power to draw all that ails a being out of their body and into her own, taking on their problems and their pain in their stead. Furthermore, she could subsequently release the stored ailments down into the volcanic heart of Mount Zheng, which served the dual purpose of letting the ailment burn until nothing remained, and of soothing the active volcano and preventing it from erupting, a catastrophic event that would obliterate most of northern Fiore if it ever came to pass. For this reason, the Divine Caladrius could never leave her mountain.

Blinding white light shone from the Divine Caladrius' eyes, forcing everyone present to avert their eyes. Suddenly, the card was cloaked in blue energy.

Pierce fought the blinding light, keeping his eyes open. He _had_ to see this. So he watched as the blue light began to drain from the piece of cardboard, being absorbed into the demigoddess' body. As it did, the card seemed to swell and grow warm, it's texture changing from smooth cardboard to rough, knobbly scales. Limbs started to emerge, hooked talons and short, sharp horns taking form, and suddenly it was too heavy for him to keep hold of. With no other recourse, Pierce was forced to drop the forming creature, and talons and scaly feet met the floor.

Finally, the light cleared, and an unearthly shriek suddenly echoed through the room. The Phoenixes finally managed to focus again, Pierce rubbing his eyes as black spots danced in his vision - _but it had been so worth it_ \- and stared at the newcomer. It was a beast unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Its frame was coated in rough, leathery scales, a pot-bellied body bristling with muscle supported by a pair of strong, digitigrade legs ending in tan-coloured claws. Short, dexterous arms hung from beneath its head, ending in stubby yet sharp-looking claws arranged almost like hands. A rust-coloured tail with a mottled brown pattern twitched inquisitively, and the creature cocked its head, registering the stares of the Phoenixes. It's skull was entirely encircled by stubby, tan-coloured spikes, and four longer horns protruded from the back of its skull, which, above its narrow, close-set eyes, swelled outwards in a reinforced bump. All told, the creature stood only to Pierce's shoulder, and it clicked its gnarled, hooked beak inquisitively, looking around.

"That is _not_ a dragon," Grace flatly stated.

"The card said 'stygimoloch'. Must be its name," Pierce shrugged. Tentatively, he crouched, lowering his head, and approached, carefully extending an arm to pat the being's head. "Well, hello there, stygimoloch," he cooed, meeting its dark eyes with his own hazel ones, trying to build trust.

Instead, the creature squawked in excitement, before lowering its head and charging forwards, hitting Pierce in the chest and knocking him clean off his feet. His colleagues giggled as he landed with a _thump_ on his rear, and suddenly the creature was crouched over him, squealing like a pig. _"Hey! Hey! Hello!"_ words echoed in Pierce's head.

Kinana stifled a chuckle. "I think he's playing," she tentatively observed.

Pierce moaned as he picked himself up, and the excitable lizard affectionately bumped him with its reinforced forehead again. "I think you're right," he agreed, taking a second to run through his knowledge of anatomy, before reaching behind the creature's head and rubbing the back of its neck, where he guessed there might be a sweet spot. Accordingly, the rust-coloured being cooed in pleasure. _"So good,"_

Pierce straightened up and continued to look over the new creature. "Stygimoloch is a bit of a mouthful . . how about I call you Styx?" he suggested. "You like that, Styx?" The stygimoloch chirped again in approval. _"Yep!"_

The Tamer blinked. "Glad you approve," he accepted.

"She liked it? How do you know that?" Kinana frowned, making an educated guess as to the creature's gender.

Pierce frowned. "Didn't you hear her?"

". . No?" the purplette blinked.

"Strange - hey! Styx!" Pierce protested as the dinosaur affectionately head butted him again, knocking him backwards.

"You should probably Tame it," Grace observed.

"Yeah. _Her_ ," Pierce corrected his sister, Requipped his flute and raised it, targeting the creature and starting to play. Quickly, the white portal materialised, and Styx snuffled at it curiously as he kept up the tune, before carefully walking into it. As soon as her tail vanished, the portal dissipated and Pierce nodded. "Alright, that takes care of that. Thanks for your help, Cala . ." He trailed off, looking around. "Caladrius?"

One of the qilins guards started, before crossing the room in a flash and picking up what Pierce recognised as a card not dissimilar to the one the new beast had been trapped in. "Oh no," he gasped, but one of the qilins held up a claw to stop him. "Don't worry. This has happened before. We have procedures,"

"Really?" Grace asked in disbelief. "This exact situation has happened before, and the Caladrius turned into a piece of cardboard?"

"No. Last time around, she became a stone statue. It took most of the village working together to haul her to the caldera. This is much easier," the other guard endorsed as they left the room.

"I guess it's time to get training," Kinana offered.

"Indeed it is," Pierce nodded, pocketing Styx's broken egg. It would make a nice keepsake.

-[CoT]-

"Okay, Aron," Pierce addressed the small, metal creature. "Let's see what you can do,"

The blue-eyed Pokémon chirped. _"I'll give it my all, Master!"_ he agreed in the voice that apparently only Pierce could hear, before head-butting a tree.

The tree promptly cracked and fell over.

Pierce blinked. ". . . Okay, that's a good start," he nodded, and Aron jumped in excitement.

-[CoT]-

The following day, Eve slunk into the Caladrius' shrine.

The qilins watched her cautiously, but as the Caladrius had decreed that the wizards of Phoenix's Eye were free to come and go as they wished, they made no move to stop her.

"Good morning, Eve," the great bird greeted her courteously, sensing discontent in her young friend's heart. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I used one of your feathers," the Snow wizard explained, pulling out the «Wing Wave Rod» and showing the three Caladrius' feathers; one of which was blackened and crumpled.

The Caladrius nodded. "I thought you might have. I sensed my magic used by another some weeks ago," she agreed. "Did it help?"

"It was amazing," Eve nodded. "With these . . I think I can finally be strong,"

The Caladrius tilted her head non-judgementally.

"So please . . give me more. I need to be able to help my friends, and I can't do that without your power. Please . . I need you to lend me more of your power," she begged, looking up at the demigod in anguish.

Something changed in the Caladrius' sightless gaze. "No," She spoke the word softly, but in a tone that brooked no argument.

Eve stiffened. "What? But . ."

With a flurry of feathers, the mighty bird flapped down to her level and stared her in the eyes. "Eve, listen to me. Those feathers are stepping stones on the path to gaining your own strength. I did not give them to you with the intention of supplanting your own power with mine. You need to discover what makes you strong, on your own," she calmly explained, somehow seeming reproachful and yet encouraging while still keeping her eyes closed.

"Oh . . I see," Eve nodded, seeming downcast.

"And whatever the case may be, borrowing my power is not something to be done lightly. Divine magic was not meant for mortals to wield, and giving you what I have is enough of a risk," the Caladrius gently explained.

"I understand," Eve still seemed disappointed, but accepted it. "Well, I guess I should go train,"

"I wish you the best of luck," the demigoddess smiled at her as she left.

-[CoT]-

"Solar Blast!" Pierce commanded, and Raya, whom he was riding upon, spread her beak wide and unleashed a sphere of flaming energy. It crashed into the peak of a nearby mountain, unleashing a massive explosion.

There was a sudden thundering as the snow shifted, and a tumultuous mass of white powder started to collapse down the mountain. Ignoring it, Raya swooped in to inspect the impact site. Upon landing, they discovered that the dirt had burnt away, revealing the rock underneath. "We didn't touch the stone," Raya grumbled.

"We have to make your fires hotter. Hot enough even to melt rock," Pierce agreed.

Down the mountain, the avalanche thundered downwards, scattering animals and knocking over trees.

In its path, Grace stood, her «Dragonwing Dress» rippling in the wind kicked up by the avalanche. As the force of nature approached she stood resolute, taking a breath in.

"Reality Dragon's Roar!" A torrent of grey energy struck the cascade of snow, shoving through it and forcing it to pass to either side. Grace pushed harder, and the Roar became stronger and more intense, cutting through the snow and leaving a furrow in the mountain as it passed to either side of her.

"Good work, Grace!" Pierce shouted down the mountain as he and Raya took to the sky once more. "Okay, Eve, set it up again!"

Eve, who was perched on the very top of the mountain, raised her arms to the sky, and commanded; "Snow Geyser!" Forcing her arms downward, a massive plume of snow erupted, spreading in every direction, before settling around the mountain, ready for them both to have another go around. Meanwhile, the first avalanche dissipated back into ethernano, no longer needed.

"I think this time we should practice with the Take Over," Raya suggested, and Pierce nodded. "Good idea,"

-[CoT]-

On April 1st, Pierce, Grace and Kinana left the mountain and flew back to the train station with Raya and Victoria, taking the train to the Magic Council's jail.

As they approached the prison, Pierce wasn't surprised to see Lahar there. "Hey, Lahar!" he exclaimed, greeting the councilman jovially.

"Hi!" Grace echoed, grinning at the black-haired man, glad to see him.

"Hello again," Lahar greeted them for his part, smiling at the Phoenixes. "I wondered if you'd come,"

"Of course, why wouldn't we?" Pierce asked.

"I'd still quite like a statement on where the hell you were for the last six years," the councilman admitted, turning and walking with them into the prison.

"And I've told you before, no dice," the Tamer grinned back at him.

"You can't fault me for trying," Lahar bashfully shrugged.

They reached the almost deserted reception desk as the only customers, and Lahar quickly ran through the protocol to organise a visit to Erik.

"Erik who?" the receptionist irritably droned.

"What do you mean, 'Erik who'?" Lahar demanded. "How many Eriks are there?"

The receptionist tapped at the Archive lacrima. "Only one," she admitted. "But it's a new protocol, to ask for people's surnames,"

"Ah," Lahar digested this. "Pierce, would you happen to know Erik's surname?"

Pierce opened his mouth, and paused. After a second, he realised that he actually didn't. ". . No," he frowned.

"We'll have to ask him when we're upstairs," the councilman resolved, leading onwards.

Soon, they had entered the small visitation room, where Erik was already waiting, flanked by a pair of guards. "Pierce!" he grinned, before his eyes fixed on the purplette behind him. "Kinana," he murmured, his single eye drinking in her body, before he leapt forward and pulled her in for a hug.

The guards twitched, but Lahar cautioned them and they didn't react.

"Hey, you," Kinana whispered, resting her head on Erik's shoulder. "Hey yourself," the one-eyed man responded, reaching up and tickling the underside of her chin.

"If this is gonna turn into a conjugal visit, we're waiting outside," Pierce half-joked, causing the two lovers to cast irritated glares at him.

"Before I leave, Erik, there's no record of your surname in our system," Lamar cut across the conversation. "Would you mind telling me, so that I might fix that?"

"Sure," the Dragon Slayer nodded, before casting a look at Pierce and Grace and chuckling. "I was hoping you wouldn't find this out until I was a free man, but needs must and all that. It's Hystia. Erik Hystia,"

Pierce and Grace both froze at this admission. "What?" Grace Hystia squeaked. "But . . that's my surname,"

Erik nodded, a smile playing across his lips. "Yeah, I know,"

"Hold on," Pierce looked between his friend and his adoptive sister incredulously. "You're Grace's _brother_?"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Okay, I did not expect this chapter to end up being so long. It's crazy.**

 **My storyboarding went like this; Chapter 93: Explain the preparations for the Grand Magic Games, and demonstrate Pierce, Grace and Eve's training over those three months. Chapter 94 is for Boomer, Hare, and Donna. Chapter 95 is Tyria, Lync, Alice and Masquerade.**

 **I probably should have given Pierce, Grace and Eve their own chapter, retrospectively. Eh. Oh well.**

 **Incidentally (because I know not all of my readers are palaeontology buffs), when it came time to decide what sort of dinosaur Pierce could tame, it had to be a species that had never appeared in Dinosaur King so that there wouldn't be any lore contradiction. So I was stuck for a bit . . but then I watched** ** _Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom_** **. The stygimoloch is the same hard-headed species of dinosaur that Owen and Claire used to break out of the cage and set loose on the auction. I hope everyone remembers that scene, it was one of (in my opinion) the best in the movie.**

 **Of course, if you've been living under a rock and haven't seen** ** _Fallen Kingdom_** **, then you can just google it and I'm sure you can find some pictures. And, of course, it meets the criteria of 'never appearing in Dinosaur King'.**

 **Anyway. I'd also like to make the obligatory remark that I need more questions for the Q/A! So feel free to ask anything! Peace!**


	24. We Never Mention Any Of This To Anyone

Chapter 94: We Never Mention Any Of This To Anyone

"Well, here we are," Donna observed, looking around.

Artorias frowned. "There's nothing here," he bluntly stated. The two of them and the omnipresent «Dire Wolf» were standing on the edge of a field. There was absolutely nothing of note in their vicinity.

"Are you certain?" Donna smirked, before leaning on a nearby fence post. It swung sideways, and there were a few faint noises of machinery, before part of the ground disappeared.

Artorias blinked in shock. The ground nearby hadn't retracted, or collapsed. The grass and soil had simply been replaced with air. He had no words for that.

But, peering in, he saw that it had unveiled a tunnel with a ladder leading down into the inky depths. "That's impressive," he nodded.

"After you," Donna courteously gestured. Artorias carefully lifted Sif onto his back and instructed her; "Hold on," The mob obligingly clung to his neck with her forepaws, her claws digging into his reinforced left shoulder and «Bloodstained Tunic» for extra purchase. Artorias was about to start climbing down the ladder when a thought struck him. "Wait. You're wearing a dress. Are you certain you want me to go under you?"

Donna blinked; that hadn't occurred to her. "Uh . . Nevermind I'll go first!" she hastily declared, stowing her «Phoenix Eye Rod» with her Celestial Keyring attached on her back, and starting to climb down the ladder. Unbothered by the extra weight of the wolf, Artorias followed.

Some minutes of climbing later, they reached the bottom of the ladder and found themselves in a cave. "Okay, which way?" Artorias asked as Donna looked around, eyeing the three different passages that led out of the hole. "Well, two lead to dead ends. And fath - ah, Eternity - took that very literally,"

"So which one is the right one?" Artorias asked.

"They rotate every six hours. It's some kind of big underground machine. Hmm . . what's the pattern . ." Donna murmured.

"Every six hours, huh? It's like a giant clock," the boy murmured, and Donna nodded, agreeing wiht his assessment. "So there's no regular daily rotation," Artorias mused.

"No, but there's a pattern every three days. But which day would it be?" Donna wondered. "There are three hundred and sixty-five days in a year, and it's been six years and five months since I was last here . ."

The Blood Wizard quirked an eyebrow. "You are _not_ trying to work that out in your head,"

"We don't have much of an alternative," Donna pointed out, grabbing her Rod and starting to draw numbers in the dirt underfoot.

"I have a better idea," Artorias declared, striding over to the nearest tunnel. "Bleeding Wave!" he cast, sending a rush of blood streaking down the tunnel.

Nothing happened.

"The traps are advanced magic, they won't be set off by a mere attack," Donna informed him.

A thought struck the Phoenix. "What about Celestial Spirits? They can't die, right? If they sustain a fatal injury they'll just go back to the Celestial World?" he checked.

Donna frowned. "Well, yes . . but they still feel pain. I don't want to use them like that," she frowned.

Artorias nodded. "Understandable. Well, I suppose it's time for plan B,"

The bluenete blinked. "What's Plan B?"

"The main body of the facility is underneath us, right?" the Blood Wizard checked, ignoring the question.

". . Yes,"

"Good," Artorias drew the «Sleepless Dream» and sent blood running down its length, forming and condensing into a large, slick, drill. He reared up, bringing the weapon back as the conical construct grew and swelled, before slamming it into the ground. "Bleeding Whirlpool!" he declared, and a tornado of blood tore into the ground, shredding the dirt and digging into the rock. Donna and Sif leapt back, and Donna stared in amazement. "So, was that Plan 'Bore A Hole Into The Ground'?" she asked.

After a couple of moments, the floor gave way, and the blood dispersed as Artorias fell into a room below. He looked around, ready for an attack, but paused, relaxing.

"All clear?" Donna called down, and Artorias looked up and used his free hand to give her a thumbs up. With that assurance, the other two leapt down, the overdressed witch grinning. "That was awesome,"

"It was the best solution," Artorias nonchalantly shrugged, looking around.

They were in a large, empty room, with whitewashed walls. "This is where there would normally be a welcoming committee," the Celestial lady nodded. "Of course, I'm sure that it's long been deserted,"

"This way," Artorias guessed, spotting a door. Donna nodded, and the three traipsed onwards. As they passed the threshold, Sif sniffed, and growled.

"Something wrong, girl?" Artorias asked as they descended a slightly curving staircase to their left.

"This place smells like monster dung," Donna agreed with the wolf.

Artorias paused. "Is it likely that there's a monster of some form down here?" he asked.

They reached a doorway leading into another room. Unlike the one upstairs, this one had no illumination, so they could not see its contents. "Not impossible," Donna admitted. "Lycurgus had some strange pet projects. And some of my old guildmates had similar interests. Clockwork in particular,"

"You said that this was his personal facility, right?" Artorias asked, and his guildmate nodded. "What better place to get some answers on him?" she rhetorically questioned.

They carefully entered the room, Artorias quietly wishing he had brought a source of light. From what little he could see in the gloom, there were a lot of tables and equipment. Nothing very unusual, though. "You know, I expected more," he admitted, picking up a microscope, before discarding it and tracing a finger through the thick layer of dust.

"What, like balls of trapped purple lightning?" Donna sarcastically questioned.

"Pretty much," Artorias nodded, before suddenly his hands found an unexpected wall. "There's another room over here," he called, peering into the darkness until he made out a door.

"Oh, forget this," Donna huffed, before producing a silver Celestial Key. "Open, Gate of the Furnace! Fornax!"

There was a burst of orange light as a doorbell rang, and an eight-foot-tall metal automaton appeared, with glowing orange eyes set into a boxy grey head and a grill on his stomach with a simmering flame inside it. He stood tall, raising his arms as though to fire energy from them, and every chink in his armour was glowing with warm, fiery light.

The room temperature increased just from the incendiary spirit's presence, and he bathed everything in orange light as he span to face Donna. "Good morrow, my lady! Whence is our foe? I shall smite him with the flames of rebuke!"

"No," Donna hastily cautioned him. "No foes, no smiting. I just need you to light up the room so we can look around,"

Fornax looked somewhat affronted, but sighed. "As you wish, mistress,"

It took a few more minutes of searching, but eventually Artorias came to a conclusion. "There is nothing here but old junk,"

"True," Donna agreed with his assessment. "Maybe on the next floor down,"

"Onwards and downwards, then," the S-Class agreed, making for the door that they had seen before. Donna, Sif and Fornax followed as they reached another staircase leading them further downwards.

Soon they reached another large chamber. This one had a taller roof than the others, and as Fornax entered, casting light over everything, they saw that it was sparse, with a single massive device dominating the centre of the room. It had a silver spherical core floating in midair, suspended by matching rings on the floor and ceiling. A single gold streak shot through it, causing the machine to take the appearance of a giant, floating, reptilian eyeball.

Sif growled at it, cautious. "What is that?" Artorias shared the sentiment, frowning suspiciously.

"I don't know," Donna admitted, stepping forwards.

The eye swivelled, twitching downwards to focus on her. This gave the witch pause, and, experimentally, she stepped to the left. The eye followed her.

Artorias inquisitively stepped forwards. "What is it?" he questioned. As soon as he was closer to the eye than Donna, it swivelled to focus on him. Peering into it, he saw that the gold streak was translucent, and there was some kind of circular metal rim within it, like a pupil.

Inquisitively, the wizard reached out and poked it with a finger.

There was a mechanical click in the ceiling, and the metal rims burst with glowing, iridescent colours. The eye dilated, the lens inside retracting and the golden streak widening until one half of the sphere was golden and translucent. Squinting, Artorias and Donna saw _something_ inside the widened eye. It looked like some kind of meadow, with a cloudless blue sky above it . . .

A synthetic voice echoed through the air. "Link established. Now scanning," Green dots of light suddenly danced around the room, projected from the opening portal and bouncing around the four intruders. "Foreign user detected. Enter passcode,"

"Passcode?" Donna repeated in curiosity.

"It obviously won't activate without the right keyword," Artorias mused. "You used to be part of this guild, do you know what it is?"

"Um . ." Donna wracked her brains. Suddenly, the eye colour shifted from gold to red, and the voice repeated in a more demanding tone; " _Enter passcode_ ,"

"Time ticks forwards, on towards inevitable chaos?" the Celestial wizard tried.

There was a pregnant moment of silence as the circular portal rippled and shifted back into gold. The synthetic voice finally spoke. "Access . . ."

Artorias and Donna tensed. Sif growled warily.

"Denied," The portal shrunk back into an eye and the lens reappeared. "Initiating defensive measures," Suddenly the frame suspending the eye emerged out of the ceiling, magnetising to the spherical core and pulling itself out of the ceiling, dropping long, mechanical arms bristling with wires and ending in stubby, clutching fingers to hang around the eye with it. The bottom frame also raised, bringing with it large, bulky legs that the eye stood upon. The central golden streak darkened to red as the monstrous machine stepped off the podium, claw-hands grasping and each step sending shudders echoing through the building.

And then a large red drill made of blood was driven into the core of the eye, tearing into it. Artorias tched as the machine staggered backwards, crashing to the ground. "Error," the machine droned, before collapsing to the ground with a crash.

"How disappointing," the Blood wizard sighed, sheathing «Sleepless Dream».

Donna blinked. "Remind me not to get on your bad side," she weakly joked, looking at the massive hole that had been shredded in the heart of the machine.

"Come on, there has to be something else interesting around here. Perhaps we can work out what the passcode is, so if we find another one of those things we'll be able to figure out what it does," Artorias suggested, sheathing «Sleepless Dream» and stepping over the wreckage.

-[CoT]-

Not far from Ghoulia was a large mesa, crisscrossed with cracks that led into dangerous ravines, forming a spiderwebbing route of connected passages. The rock was barren and bleached orange, and the scorching heat of the sun beating down was unrelenting.

This was the location that Hare had chosen for her training. In the narrow expanses of the canyons, the air would either be still and dry and difficult to move, or rushing with concentrated wind. Either way, it would be a challenging environment for someone to learn Wind Magic in . . so if she could grind that skill to the max level in a place like this, she'd be that much stronger anywhere else. Not to mention, with all the natural walls and passageways, this would be a great opportunity to practise her new Parkour abilities.

But, as she approached the canyons, she heard a familiar sound.

Music blasting at a thousand decibels.

Hare blinked in shock. No. No way. Speeding forwards, she quickly reached the canyon's edge, and was promptly overwhelmed by the intense waves of sound bouncing off the walls.

"Oh, no. No, no no no!" she raged, parkour running down the side of the canyon and realising that the music was coming from her left. In a blur, she struggled through the intense vibrations, forcing herself to an intersection.

The Speed Wizard turned to see a three-wheeled magicmobile rushing down the narrow canyon towards her. She shouted, trying to attract the driver's attention, but the intense sound frowned out all other noise. Luckily, the man at the wheel saw her before him and slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle squealing to a halt.

With a twist of a dial, the music stopped, dying away as the echoes in the canyon faded. With a hiss, the door to the vehicle swung open, and a pudgy figure emerged.

In perfect unison, Hare and Boomer both demanded; "What the _actual hell_ are you doing here?"

"Also, what happened to your car?" the Speed wizard added.

The Sonic Boom had a new coat of paint. Its white and orange colours had been replaced by sleek black, with glowing white lines running throughout. The formerly grey speakers were silver, and glowing with white energy. Further, the arrowhead-shaped car had, if possible, become even more streamlined; the front was narrower and protruded further forwards, a sleek, triangular roof had been secured over the previously exposed canopy, and two large exhaust pipes were secured pointing diagonally upwards from the rear. It almost perfectly matched the array of «Magic Circuit Vestments», «Magic Circuit Leggings» and «Magic Circuit Boots» that Boomer was wearing.

"Upgrades," Boomer grinned at her. "That's why I came here. These canyons are full of echoes. Sound bounces off the walls and gets amplified. It's the perfect place for a Sound Wizard to train,"

"Don't be stupid. You don't train in places that make it easier to use your magic. You train in places where it's harder. Like these canyons; it'll be way harder to use Wind magic with still air like this," Hare retorted.

"You're the one being stupid. Why make training harder on yourself?" Boomer skeptically questioned. "If you want to reach the greatest heights of power, you need to practice in a place that amplifies your magic,"

"Well, whatever. We'll see who's more powerful at the Grand Magic Games," the Wind witch snorted. "In the meantime, get off my training grounds!"

"I was here first, and my hometown is right over the horizon! You get off _my_ training grounds!" the symphonic warrior hotly retorted.

"Your hometown is a crumbling pile of ash and you haven't lived there in more than a decade. Besides, I called dibs," Hare snorted.

"You did not!" Boomer spluttered. "If anything, I got dibs!"

"You're both wrong!" The two wizards paused and swivelled.

A trio of rather strange men were facing them down. Each was clad in an orange unitard, and each had thick, pudgy limbs like sausages, covered in hair

The feature that, perhaps, dominated their appearances, though, was their massive, swollen, balloon-like cheeks.

Hare and Boomer both blinked at the ape-like man with massive cheeks pointing at them, each wondering if they were hallucinating. "You see them too, right?" the Sound Wizard whispered, and Hare nodded.

"This canyon is our territory, and we ain't gonna let no guilders train here!" the Black-haired leader declared. His sentence was punctuated with a "You said it, boss!" from the white-haired second, and three claps from the third, a bald man with a toothbrush moustache.

"And who, exactly, are you?" Hare questioned.

"We're the Cheeks-Jiggle Gang!" the leader said, the title emphasised by three claps from the third once more. "So get off our turf!" the second commanded with the same annoyingly high-pitched voice.

Boomer shrugged. "Eh, alright. I can find another place to train, if you guys live here," he accepted, but Hare grasped his shoulder and held him in place. "We're not going anywhere!" she shouted.

Her outburst was added to by Toothbrush Moustache, who clapped thrice to emphasise it. Everyone present stared at him in confusion, and his leader hissed; "Don't clap for the enemy,"

"Oh yeah! Well, let's see if you can put up with my Seed-Spit Magic!" the leader declared, puckering up his lips and blowing out his elastic-like cheeks to three claps from his friend.

"What the hell kind of -" Hare was interrupted by a machine-gun-like round of seeds spat like bullets from the man's lips. Both Phoenixes blanched and started jerking around, trying to dodge.

Several of the avoided seeds hit the Sonic Boom with a musical series of clangs. Boomer spared a glance . . And saw that every seed spat left a tiny scratch on his paint job. "Hey!" Grabbing his boombox, he tweaked the dials and laid it on the ground. "Don't you dare touch my paint! Sonic Laser!" He slammed his hand down on the metal casing, forcing magic power through the circuits, and the boombox launched a concussive shell of concentrated sound that hit the head of the Cheeks-Jiggle Gang in the chest and knocked him away.

The third member, Toothbrush Moustache, watched his leader fly away with a low whistle, before turning and glaring at the Phoenixes with fire in his eyes. He raised his hands . . and slapped them against his distended cheeks. Then he slapped his barrel-like chest, before going to his thighs, upper arms, and then his limbs danced around with a series of clapping noises that was dizzying to watch.

"Aww, you're in for it now!" Annoying Voice cheered. "No one's ever beaten Buddy's Hambone Magic!"

Hare and Boomer stopped dead at this. " _What_ magic?" Hare questioned.

Toothbrush Moustache, now identified as Buddy, advanced on them, still keeping up that dizzying, dance-like sequence.

"Is this going somewhere?" Boomer impatiently questioned.

Suddenly Buddy lunged forwards, palms raised and flowing with magic power, and they understood. His Hamboning was a technique to build up kinetic energy, which he would then discharge in one powerful blow.

Hare snorted and cast; "Fukke navraku jan," A blast of green energy shot from her fingers, hit the bald man and played over his body, and the he tripped and fell flat on his face. His glowing hand fell onto his own stomach, and the self-inflicted strike Burst with kinetic energy, knocking his head back and leaving a quickly-swelling bruise on his chest.

Winding up, the princess kicked the unfortunate man so hard that he went flying back to join his leader.

"This is a bit harsh," Boomer observed, and Hare dispassionately shrugged.

Meanwhile, the final member of the Cheek-Jiggle Gang still on his feet turned white as a sheet. "H-holy crap, these two are too strong!" He backed away, almost falling. "Ch-Cheek Balloon!"

Boomer and Hare watched in bemusement as his cheeks swelled to ridiculous proportions, slowly becoming buoyant enough to lift his body into the air.

". . . this is the stupidest kind of magic I have ever seen," Hare observed as the ballooning bandit, his limbs flailing madly, cleared the top of the ravine and scrambled towards safety.

"Hey, he left his friends behind," Boomer observed.

Hare mulled this over. That man . . he was escaping with no regard for the lives of his teammates. All he cared about was his own skin. For all he cared, she could kill his friends.

Was that how she came off?

Hare snorted and shook her head. No, she was different. She wouldn't abandon her friends in a pinch. She was sure of that. Right?

Her eyes darted to Boomer. Her friend. "You know what? Maybe we should train here, together. After all, there's plenty of space. And a sparring partner would be helpful," she pointed out.

The black-haired boy raised a surprised eyebrow at Hare's apparent change of heart, but nodded, accepting her logic. "That does make sense . . you sure?" After all, it wasn't like the Sylph to compromise.

"Yes," she curtly replied. "One thing, though,"

"What's that?" Boomer asked.

"Don't tell anyone that . . y'now,"

"That you actually are capable of being nice and helpful?" Boomer smirked.

Hare flipped her hair, looking away. "Your words, not mine. Also, we should probably leave the guys with cheek magic out of this too,"

"Aww, but they're hilarious! Did you _see_ that Seed-Spitting guy? It's actually kinda cool in a stupid way," Boomer protested.

Hare strode onwards. "Whatever. I'll take out the trash, then we can get started," She kept her head turned away from Boomer. If wouldn't do for him to know that she was smiling.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **One more chapter, one more - well, four more - wizards training. Let me just say, the importance of a chapter seems to be inversely proportional to the amount of difficulty I have writing it.**

 **This is definitely not related to the fact that the Butt-Jiggle Gang and Jugs-Jiggle Gang took the obvious ideas for bodily caricature villains nad it took me ages to think of what is obvious in hindsight; the Cheek-Jiggle Gang.**

 **We probably won't see them again. But if we do, then maybe we'll get to hear their backstory this time! This is definitely not going to largely depend on whether or not I can think of something more pathetic than 'The Butt-Jiggle Gang dyed their shirts black to hide a stain'.**

 **Also; to the guest reviewer Darth Monkey (who I cannot PM);**

 **. . . Have you been reading my notes? Seriously, you accurately guessed so many of the things I have planned for the future. But you kinda missed the point of the Q/A; you're supposed to ask the characters things, not me personally. So, mind rephrasing?**

 **Anyways. Peace, all!**


	25. The Electrian Revolutionary

Chapter 95: The Electrian Revolutionary

Headmaster Atsphuria's College of Practical Education.

To Tyria, that place was home. Well, so was Phoenix's Eye. But it had been the College first.

It had taken barely a day for Aluze to fly from Hargeon to the port of Lyceum. Of course, Lync didn't stop there; they made directly for their College.

"I hope nothing much has changed," Alice commented.

"Well, that kind of depends," Lync pointed out.

"On what Alvarez has done," Tyria agreed.

Nine years ago, three years before they were all thrust into the future, the Alvarez Empire had invaded Electria. The three of them, together with their fellows in the College, had aided in the resistance movement; helping the surviving Colleges - which were Electria's answer to Fiore's Wizard Guilds - maintain connection with each other and operate an underground continuation of Electrian culture. Hindered in no small part by the forces of the Alvarez Empire.

However, Tyria, as the personal assistant to Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria - the man who had, in her eyes, replaced the father who had abandoned her when the war began - had been given a different mission. The surviving leaders of Electria, including Headmaster Atsphuria, had compiled a collection of the essence of their country; their most valuable treasures, complete and accurate records of their country's history, and, perhaps most importantly to Alvarez, the blueprints to their most dangerous technologies. All of this was loaded into a single vessel, known as the Electrian Compendium . . and the Compendium was given to Tyria.

She had taken it to Fiore, and hidden it in a forest in the middle of nowhere. For a time, the young girl had become a bandit to get by; calling herself the Shellshocker. But after a fated meeting with Pierce and Boomer, she had joined the Phoenix's Eye Guild. At first, it was just a way to make ends meet without breaking the law, but over time, the guild had become just as much of a home as the College had ever been. Then her old friends Lync and Alice had been sent to aid her after a fiasco in which she had been kidnapped . . twice . . but that was another story.

Tyria's stomach rumbled. She had been trapped in Aluze's cramped holding bay all day, with no opportunity for privacy. She had plenty of scraps of technology in her pockets, but no chance to eat them without one of her friends noticing. And that would lead to problematic questions. Though, hopefully, those questions would be answered soon . . that was, after all, the real reason she wanted to talk to Professor Atsphuria. When it began, she didn't want to burden him with her problems; he was, after all, orchestrating a war. But, after what the Caladrius had told her, she felt she had no choice . . and in the massive mess of events that she'd been caught up in ever since the S-Class Trials, she hadn't had an opportunity until now.

But soon she would, as Aluze began to descend. "We'll be breaching the containment bubble any minute now," Lync reported, and the two girls crowded around the monitors linked to the Bakugan's six eyes. There was a hiss, and suddenly, they could see.

Tyria gasped, taking in the state of her beloved College.

The sports grounds had been shredded, and were seemingly overgrowing with plants, which she immediately recognised as a plantation. They were growing their own food. That wasn't good. Scattered throughout the grounds were a series of bomb craters. They'd been attacked. Oh no.

But the worst part? The entire left side of the U-shaped main structure of the Collage had been reduced to rubble. The Electrian gasped, eyeing the piles of debris that marked where some of her favourite classrooms and workshops had been located. "Oh no . ." she murmured, swallowing nervously.

"There's smoke," Alice muttered, and Tyria blinked, taking another look. Sure enough, a chimney on the surviving right side of the college had just emitted a puff of black steam. "Someone's got a fire going. There have to be people in there,"

"I'm bringing her down," Lync declared, settling Aluze into the chipped and broken front square. With a pneumatic hiss, the bay door swung open.

Running at full tilt, Tyria leapt into open air, swerving around the Bakugan and making for the front doors. Her feet running on autopilot, she traced the worn route to Gabriel Atsphuria's personal office, and in minutes, her growling stomach forgotten, she had halted outside the ornate doors that led into the study.

Hesitantly, she knocked.

"Come in," a familiar voice echoed through the doors, and, suddenly, Tyria was ten years old again, entering this room for the first time, before the war had even began.

Haltingly, she pushed the doors open.

Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria started, his eyes going wide, as he took in the sight of the young lady. He spluttered, confused, before finally choking out, "Tyria?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she recognised the man who meant so much to her, and, abandoning all decorum, Tyria leapt forwards, jumped clear over his desk and hugged him, crying "Headmaster!"

Carefully, Gabriel returned the embrace, feeling her to make sure that she was real. "I - I don't understand," he murmured to her.

"It's a long story," she replied. "I've missed you so much,"

"You look so young - where have you been? I heard that there was some kind of accident and you'd all been killed,"

"Wrong," And Tyria launched into a brief recap of everything that had happened during the S-Class Trials, as well as their issues in Alfheim, the long boat ride home, and the subsequent fight against the Neo Oracion Och that had delayed her return even more. While she talked, Lync and Alice caught up, but hung back, recognising this as a moment just for the two Electrians.

". . Phoenix's Eye has their own pirate division?" Headmaster Atsphuria questioned in disbelief.

Tyria laughed weakly and cuffed him in irritation. "As if that's the most unbelievable thing about all that," she snorted.

"I suppose time travel would explain things," Headmaster Atsphuria accepted. "Well, I'm just glad that you're alright," he smiled at his surrogate daughter.

"What's been happening over here, though?" Tyria questioned. "The College is in shambles,"

"The College was destroyed," the elderly wizard sighed. "At least, that's what Alvarez thinks,"

Alice blinked. "What does that mean?" she frowned.

"About a year after you all vanished, we were found out. The Alvarez Empire launched an all-out assault against us, spearheaded by a member of the Spriggan 13," Their Headmaster turned world-weary eyes on them. "The sheer, unbelievable power that woman possessed . . I couldn't fight it. The entire College couldn't fight it. I doubt that every wizard in Electria, all working together, could fight it,"

"The Spriggan 13?" Lync questioned.

"They're the personal guard of Emperor Spriggan, the leader of the Alvarez Empire," Alice explained. "But still . . our entire College was wiped out by one woman? Who was she?"

"To this day, I don't know. All I know is, she wields the power of a dragon," Headmaster Atsphuria sighed. "Whoever she was, she single-handedly doomed the resistance in Electria. It was all some of us could do to escape with our lives,"

"But then why are you still here?" Tyria asked, concerned.

"We're hiding in plain sight," the wizened man explained. "Alvarez thinks we're all dead, and that this place is a ruin. They're not wrong on that count, mind. I'm sure you saw the left wing on your way in," he chuckled. "Any time someone comes by, we get into the tunnel networks and hide until they're gone. But I suppose you all must have come by air, whereas our wards are only on the ground," He grimaced. "That's something we'll have to fix," Lync nodded agreement.

Alice blinked, suddenly realising something. "Hold on a second," she frowned. "Lync, you didn't do anything to hide Aluze on our way in. If Alvarez is in charge, their people will have seen us come here,"

"Yeah. So?" Lync shrugged.

"They're sure to have Aluze on record after what happened with Lord Rolfe several years ago. They'll know that he belongs to you, and that you're a colleague of Tyria's," Alice thought curiously. "And they're probably still after the Compendium, too,"

"Great Scott, the Compendium!" Atsphuria suddenly exclaimed. "Yes. Them not having the Compendium is the only thing stopping their conquest of Electria from being complete! Dear god, Tyria. If they think for even a second that you might be here, they'll be sending people to investigate and to capture you,"

"Oh, no," the bluenette gulped.

The man frowned. "Lync, Alice. Go around the grounds, find as many people as you can and warn them what's coming. Tyria, come with me. You're their target, I need to get you somewhere safe,"

"That's fine. There's something I need to talk to you about as well," Tyria declared, shooting him a conflicted look.

Atsphuria returned it with a quizzical raised eyebrow as their friends left the room. "How about we walk and talk?" he suggested, leaving his desk and making for the double doors.

Tyria joined him, and, as they moved through the arch, she questioned; "Why didn't you tell me about my parents?"

Gabriel nodded. "So you figured it out, did you?" he nodded, understanding. "I thought you would sooner or later,"

"Actually, the Divine Caladrius told me," Tyria clarified. Seeing her father figure's inquisitively raised eyebrow, she clarified, "Demigod offspring of Isis, goddess of nature,"

"And you got along?" Gabriel chuckled in surprise.

Tyria was not amused, and just glared.

"You're right," he nodded, his face losing its levity. "I suppose it's time for you to come and meet your forebear,"

The Electrian blinked in surprise. "What - right now? But what about the College?" she frowned.

Gabriel shook his head as they reached a door. "Even if they are coming, it will take them a few hours, probably a day or two to get organised and come here. We have plenty of time," With that, he swung open the door and revealed a hole dug into the ground, with a ladder leading downwards.

Tyria started. ". . I thought you were joking about the tunnels,"

Headmaster Atsphuria chuckled. "Well, this is an _underground_ resistance," he pointed out. "Please, after you,"

-[CoT]-

They had to have been walking through the tunnel for hours, but time passed as though it were coated with grease for Tyria. Her very being was brimming with anticipation. After all, in a manner of speaking, she'd been waiting for this for six years.

They passed through dusty, cobweb-encrusted passageways, breaking down multiple barricades and passing several warning signs. "Your grandfather doesn't like to be disturbed much," Gabriel explained after the first of the signs which read 'ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE'.

"I can see that," Tyria agreed. Though, more than the warning signs or the obvious indicators of neglect, what concerned her was the fact that, for the last couple of kilometres, the tunnel had been sloping downwards, and slowly getting hotter.

But, finally, they arrived in a large antechamber. Every surface was suddenly made of metal that felt hot to the touch, all riveted together. Opposite the room from their entrance was a massive set of double doors made of some strange black metal. "We're here," Headmaster Atsphuria stated, spotting a button on the side of the door. "There. Press that," he commanded.

"Okay," Tyria nodded, stepping forwards and pressing the proffered button.

There was a pneumatic hiss, and, slowly, the massive doors started to swing open. As soon as they parted, though, an earthshaking noise of metal on metal shook the room. The girl shivered, discontent. "What was that?" she demanded of Gabriel, who smiled. "Ah. He's working,"

Soon, the doors had parted enough that they could pass through. Slowly, trepidantly, Tyria advanced, Professor Atsphuria trailing behind her. As they did, the crashing noise echoed through the room again, and then again, building a constant rhythm.

And, at last, they emerged into a cavernous room. Tyria gasped as she beheld it. Everything was made of bronzed, scorched metal. Every surface bristled with all manner of technologies, modern and archaic alike, and often blended together in unearthly ways. Fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, but the primary source of illumination was a warm orange light that shone through grates in the floor. Taking a second to glance down, the girl stiffened, realising that, inches below her feet, were rivers of red-hot lava.

But, dominating everything in the massive chamber, was a vast, muscled Electrian man, who stood at surely twenty feet tall, with frizzy yellow hair cascading down his naked back. His back was turned, and he had a large hammer in his hand, and was slamming it down repeatedly on an equally large anvil. This was, no doubt, the source of the crashing sound they kept hearing.

"Ahem!" Gabriel shouted, straining his throat to make himself heard over the noise of the anvil.

The giant man drew back his arm once again, paused, before turning his head and staring at the door. Large, wide, orange eyes immediately found them, set in a face almost completely covered by a massive moustache that flowed into his beard.

Tyria froze, immediately feeling, in her core, the sheer overwhelming power that this being, who she was hesitant to even call a man, exuded. She quailed, trying to fight the instinct to flee as he stomped his way across the room to stand before them, looking down inquisitively.

Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria stepped back respectfully, and stated, "Tyria Zechtian, I'd like to introduce you to Hephaestus, the god of the forge,"

Tyria blinked, slowly processing this. She was standing in front of a _god_. One of the founding forces that had created the world as all of humanity knew it. Being with the Divine Caladrius had _not_ prepared her for this.

Hephaestus' lips twitched beneath his beard as a large, bushy eyebrow shifted upwards.

And, suddenly, his beard split in a massive, toothy smile. The hammer he still clutched fell to the ground, and he raised his tree-like arms, scooping Tyria up in his meaty hands and suddenly clutching her to his shoulder. The unfortunate girl gasped, the wind knocked out of her, and Hephaestus beamed, shouting; "I finally get to meet my _granddaughter_!"

Tyria' eyes went wide at this admission. "Hold on. You're my . . _whuh_?" she blinked, shocked, trying to look at the massive man.

Hephaestus blinked, quickly setting her back down and peering at her in confusion. "You don't know?" he frowned, before fixing his eyes on Headmaster Atsphuria. "Gabriel! You were only supposed to bring her here once she found out for herself!"

"She did, though!" the wizened man assured him. "She met another demigod, who explained that she had divine blood! She just didn't know the source!"

Hephaestus blinked. "Oh," Suddenly, he sat down with a thump and leant against a nearby cauldron. "Well then. I suppose it's my fault for not being specific enough. Oh well, the beans are spilt now,"

"Neither of you are making any sense!" Tyria cut through the conversation, looking between the two males in confusion. "What do you mean, you're my grandfather? Why weren't you supposed to tell me?" she demanded of each of them.

Hephaestus smiled down at her, and patted a spot on his knee. "Sit down, and I'll explain everything," he assured her.

Tyria defiantly remained standing and folded her arms.

The god shrugged. "Suit yourself. Now, when a god falls in love with a human woman, he takes on a form more suited to her, before going to bed, taking his trousers off and -"

"I know where babies come from," the Electrian interrupted.

"Oh. Well, that saves time, then," Hephaestus smiled. "It was from such a union that your father, Kellan Zechtian, was born," he explained. "This was something like sixty years ago, mind. Eventually he found a woman of his own, and made you with her. That's how you came to be," he smiled.

"That doesn't explain anything!" Tyria snapped, confused and annoyed. "Wh-" She stuttered, so full of questions that she had no idea where to begin. "What about the war?" she finally decided. "Have you just been hiding down here for the last ten years? Why didn't you help us fight Alvarez?" she demanded.

The light in Hephaestus' eyes dimmed, and he shook his head. "I can't," he admitted with a sigh.

Tyria blinked. "Well, why not?" she questioned.

"Because gods are forbidden from personally interfering in the matters of mortals," the forge god explained. "I _can't_ directly support your kind in a war. The most I can do is lend my power to select individuals and allow them to fight on my behalf. Your friend Gabriel is one of those whom I have empowered in such a way," he explained. "Unfortunately . . it wasn't enough. And now there's _nothing_ I can do for Electria!" In a sudden fit of rage, the god span and punched a nearby table. The force of the blow destroyed one of the legs, and the table collapsed, spilling its contents all over the floor. Hephaestus sighed. "I'll clean that up later," he grumbled.

"Oh," Tyria nodded, digesting this. "I see. But . ." After a second's consideration, she sat in the spot that Hephaestus had indicated before, and the bearded man looked down at the bluenette. "I'm sorry," he rumbled. "I know this must be a lot for you to take in," he explained.

"Well, sort of. But at the same time, it kind of makes sense," Tyria admitted, looking back at Headmaster Atsphuria as a thought struck her. "Hey. Headmaster? This is why you chose me to take the Electrian Compendium to Fiore, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Gabriel Atsphuria nodded, confirming her suspicions. "I told you that the Electrian Compendium contained our most sacred texts and valuable artefacts, true and accurate records of our history, and our most dangerous technologies. But what I never told you was that the most dangerous technology of all, the one thing that, above all else, Alvarez must never possess," he took a breath, "was the girl who had inherited the power of the machine god,"

"Heh," Tyria nodded. "So I, myself, am part of the Electrian Compendium, huh?" she nodded, digesting this. _"I'm a demigod,"_ she spoke the words aloud for the first time, looking at herself with new eyes. She had known ever since the Caladrius had told her that she sensed divinity inside her, but now, hearing the words aloud, in the presence of her godly grandparent, it fully sunk in.

"And I am a _grandfather_ ," Hephaestus sounded positively jubilant about this fact.

"Hey," Tyria paused as something occurred to her. "Where is my father? Your son? What happened to him?"

The dark, disconsolate look entered her grandparent's eyes once again. "As a god, I'm forbidden from entering into the affairs of mortals. A half-god like Kellan Zechtian, though, has no such restrictions. Ten years ago, after he entrusted you to Gabriel here, he was on the front lines of the war. I was down here, watching as he gave everything he could to protect his people, and . ." He clenched his fist in unadulterated fury, tempered only by the presence of his granddaughter.

"You don't need to say it. I can guess," Tyria sighed.

"If it helps, they never found his body. He might be out there somewhere," Gabriel interjected. Grandfather and granddaughter alike cast him an identical irritated glare. Neither wanted to cling to a false hope for even a second. "Nevermind," the elderly man nodded.

"You never told me why you weren't just upfront about my heritage," the Electrian asked, peering up at her grandfather. "I'm seventeen, twenty-three if you count the time travel. Why am I only finding out about this now?"

"Because you would have gotten overconfident," Hephaestus gravely told her. "Imagine how things would have been if everyone knew about your divine blood all your life. You'd have become dependent on your powers and the status they bring. You could easily have fallen prey to hubris, and failed to respect the people around you because they aren't on your level. The best case scenario, if that had come to pass, would be that you got yourself killed trying to defeat someone stronger than you. On the other hand, you could have become some manner of mad queen and tried to take over the world. Either way, I didn't want it on my conscience, so I ensured that it wouldn't happen," he solemnly explained, before smiling again. "And look how you turned out. A strong young woman, surrounded by friends and allies that she knows she can trust. I couldn't have asked for better. No, keeping your true powers secret was for the best, and I hope you agree with me,"

Tyria nodded. "I suppose you have a point," she admitted. But mention of her friends brought her to remember why she had come back to Electria in the first place, and she picked herself up. "But . . this isn't why I came here," Tyria admitted, standing up.

Hephaestus tilted his head in curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"

"In two and a half months, my guild and I are going to enter a massive tournament. I came back so that I could train to unlock the true nature of my abilities," she explained, and the god nodded. "The Grand Magic Games, yes. I suspected as much,"

"I understand now, and I know why you withheld my powers . . but if I'm going to help my friends win, I need every advantage," the Electrian explained.

A smile emerged through the frizzy yellow beard. "Well. You really have grown into a remarkable young woman. If you'd asked me that for your own sake, I'd have said you weren't ready yet. But to help your friends? How can I refuse a request like that?" With that, the god stood and turned, starting to stride towards the back of his workshop. "Come with me, both of you!" he commanded. Obligingly, the two humans followed.

Soon, Hephaestus had reached what looked like a high-tech cupboard, coloured black and blue. "When I heard that you had been born, I knew this day would eventually come. So I prepared," Tyria found herself scooped up and lifted by the giant man, and raised to the level of the metal containment unit, brought before what she immediately recognised as the shape of a human hand. "I built it to respond only to a touch that was both mortal and divine," he explained.

Obligingly, Tyria raised her right hand and pressed it against the print.

There was a whir of machinery inside, and suddenly the entire cupboard slid open, a platform extending with safety railings folding out of it. Hephaestus set Tyria down on the platform, and the demigod looked into the space within nervously. "Go on," he encouraged her.

Hesitantly, Tyria advanced, walking into the crevasse.

As soon as she entered, panels shot open in the walls of the room she found herself in, and a surge of liquid, molten metal sprayed out of them, dropping into troughs and lighting up the room with a warm, red glow.

Something shone from a pedestal in the centre and, carefully, Tyria approached, shielding her eyes from the golden glow.

Resting on a raised dais was a gear, the size of her hand, with fine, sharp teeth, made of black metal with flecks of gold speckled into it.

At once, she knew what she had to do. Carefully, reverentially, the Phoenix scooped up the piece of technology with both hands and bit into it.

It was the best thing she'd ever tasted; warm, almost melting in her mouth, incredibly sweet and yet fizzing with energy. Excited, she took another bite, and another, and finally had swallowed the whole thing. As she did, a strange warmth spread through her body.

Suddenly, her TechType magic's HUD, that was almost always projected over her vision, popped up and autonomously opened the menu that she used to regulate her Gear Changes. She gasped as a yellow light emblazoned a new option amidst her second, third and infinite gears. Slowly, Tyria smiled, feeling new power course through her body. When she got back to Fiore, the Grand Magic Games wouldn't know what had hit them.

Slowly, still revelling in the new power that was coursing through her body - though she supposed she had always had it, just never before been able to use it - Tyria emerged, into the waiting gazes of Hephaestus and Headmaster Atsphuria.

"So, how does it feel to be a fully realised demigod?" her grandfather asked, delight sparkling in his eyes.

"A little intoxicating, to be honest," Tyria admitted, spreading her fingers and looking at them with curiosity. "This is going to take some getting used to . . but I've still got two months until I have to go back to Fiore," She looked up at the mighty God. "Hephaestus . . please, will you teach me to use this ability properly?" she nervously requested.

The god beamed. "Of course. But only if you call me 'grandpa'!" he grinned.

"I hate to interrupt, but I'd rather like to be getting back to my college," Headmaster Atsphuria interjected.

Tyria blinked. The collage! Lync and Alice! And Laurel, and Kay too! How could she have forgotten? "Right! Yeah, we need to go make sure Alvarez doesn't discover them!" she agreed, before turning to her grandfather. "Um . . sorry, but we might have to postpone the training until tomorrow,"

Hephaestus just nodded in approval. "Of course, of course. Go, help your friends. I'm not going anywhere," he smiled down at her.

"Great!" Tyria grinned looking st her mentor. "Let's move!"

-[CoT]-

The sun was just setting on Atsphuria's College when the two of them returned. However, instead of emerging into daylight, Atsphuria lead her down a different passage, and soon they found themselves in an underground room, where Alice, along with her old friend Laurel, were crammed into a safe room along with the paltry dozen or so remaining students of the College.

"Tyria!" Alice exclaimed, beaming at her friend. "Where have you been?"

"Long story. Where's Lync?" Tyria asked, not seeing their Brawler friend.

"Outside, keeping watch," the orangette explained. "Alvarez's patrols are on their way. They'll be here in about an hour,"

"They usually stay for a coupl'a days, then leave," Laurel explained.

"I don't think it will be the same this time," Headmaster Atsphuria gravely explained. "If they think that Tyria's here, they'll stop at nothing to capture her. They might even set up a permanent detachment here, just in case she resurfaces,"

"What?" Tyria gasped. "But - then . ."

"We'd lose the College. For real this time," Alice nodded gravely.

"What will we do, Headmaster?" one of the other students asked.

Gabriel seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. He breathed in deeply, gaunt lines appearing in his face, and his eyes steeled. "We lost the College a long time ago. There's nothing we can do about that,"

"Headmaster, what are ya saying?" Laurel asked, worried.

"It's time to leave," Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria resolved.

Everyone exchanged glances. Many of the students were reluctant. But in their hearts they all knew the time had come.

"Even if we do need to escape, how can we?" Laurel asked. "They're sure to be watching all the ports. And there's a big dif between flying _in_ and flying _out_ ,"

Alice had the solution. "My grandfather's warp gate! The one the Brawlers used to use to get to Vestroia years ago!"

"That hunk of junk?" Lync had somewhat sore memories of the machine in question. "Didn't Shadow Prove destroy it?"

"The original one, yes," Alice confirmed. "But if I remember correctly, the College has a prototype in storage. He left it here for safe keeping. If we dig it out and get it working, we could set the coordinates for Magnolia. I'm sure Phoenix's Eye would be more than happy to let all of us stay there,"

"Considering that membership's at an all-time low, I'm sure Master will be thrilled," Tyria assured them.

"Then it's settled. Everyone, out! We're going to fix that portal!" the Headmaster shouted, leading his students out of the room. Tyria and Alice eagerly trotted at his side as they returned to the ladder.

-[CoT]-

It didn't take long to find the disassembled prototype. It had been buried in a shed at the back of the College, amidst various other machines and technologies. With Alice's understanding of her grandfather's mechanics and Gabriel's power, they quickly reassembled the parts, and soon they were staring up at the makeshift portal; a massive capsule, surrounded by machinery and control units on all sides.

"Think it'll work?" Tyria asked Alice, who hummed thoughtfully. "Well, maybe. I know how it's supposed to work, and I think that this is right. But . . well . ." She trailed off.

"You don't _know_ that it'll work," Tyria surmised, and Alice nodded.

"Well, I don't see we got much choice, eh?" Laurel shrugged, moving over to them. "Chillax, girl. It'll be fine,"

"It'll work because it has to, huh?" Alice dryly chuckled. "I suppose that I've heard worse philosophies,"

 _Fang-shaped blue lenses covering his eyes. Menacing, spiky blond hair._

Suddenly Alice frowned, rubbing her forehead. "What's wrong?" the bluenette asked.

"Nothing. Just heard from Masquerade again. He's checked all my calculations, and he says it'll work," the orangette nodded, smiling.

"Well, that's a relief," Tyria smiled.

"I'd better go grab my things. If we're really not coming back, I've got some stuff I don't want left behind," Laurel explained, and the other two girls nodded as the Electrian jogged away.

For a moment, everything was peaceful.

And then Lync appeared, looking panicked. "Guys! Guys! Alvarez is here!" he shouted.

Tyria clenched her teeth; she knew that getting away without being noticed would be too good to be true. "Damnit!"

"The three of us need to distract them," Alice resolved.

"I agree," Headmaster Atsphuria nodded gravely. "If they think you three are the only ones here, they'll be less likely to call for backup than if they see all of us,"

"I should stay here, though, to monitor the portal," Alice ascertained. 'And I'm not good at fighting like you two,' the words hung in the air, unsaid but obvious.

"Alright," Tyria grinned despite herself. She knew that Alvarez attacking the College was a bad thing objectively speaking . . . but, really, she couldn't ask for a better opportunity to try out her new abilities. "Let's go!" Without another word, she ran back towards the half-destroyed College, Lync soon hot on her heels. The Electrian rounded the intact right wing, trainers slapping against the grass and stone underfoot, and approached the central courtyard. Already, she could see, just beyond the magical veil that kept Atsphuria's College hidden from Alvarez, a platoon of soldiers advancing on the main gates.

"Lync, do me a favour," Tyria asked, a thrill of adrenaline running through her body.

"Sure, name it," the Vestal agreed.

"Don't join in unless it looks like I'm in trouble. I've got some new stuff to try out, and I don't want you caught in the crossfire," the Electrian explained.

Lync quirked an eyebrow but nodded. "Uh . . if you say so,"

"There they are! Men, form up!" Tyria looked back at the guards to see that they had entered the main courtyard, and were drawing their weapons. Grinning, she strode forwards.

"Tyria Zechtian! You are under arrest for war crimes against the Alvarez Empire! Surrender peacefully and you will not be harmed!" the commander shouted at her as she slowly approached.

"Sorry, but I've got other plans. So I'll give you one chance to turn around and leave before things get ugly!" Tyria retorted, clenching her fists.

In response, the soldiers simply raised their weapons.

"Well, can't say you didn't ask for it," the Phoenix shrugged philosophically, before reaching into the air and turning an imaginary dial. "I am the lock, and my command; the key. The gears of the universe shall defend my heart and soul," As she spoke, her eyes flashed blue. "I now undo the limiter, and pronounce myself the ruler of progress," Black energy crackled around her body, and a massive black gear rose out of the ground with her in the centre. "Gear Change!"

A pillar of fizzing black energy shot from the ground around her, with streaks of blue arcing into the heavens, and lifting Tyria off the ground by a couple of feet. Her hair wrested itself free of its typical ponytail, spiking upwards and turning into silver spikes in the same manner as her Mark II form, crackling with black electricity like pylons. Her «Sunrise Cloak» was thrown away as steel chest armour formed around her shoulders, and short black blades materialised, attached to her corset. Finally, a laurel wreath made of black metal manifested above her head, before settling amidst her hair like a crown. "Machine Generation!"

The pillar of divine magic came crashing down as the black gear folded in towards her, leaving a scorched outline on the ground. As the energy dispersed, Tyria remained, her eyes glowing white against skin that seemed to be darker by comparison.

The Alvarez soldiers quailed in shock. "Um . . attack!" the squad leader nervously commanded.

The demigoddess let her feet touch the ground, perfectly poised, with arms spread wide. The power surging through her was incredible. She hadn't felt like this since the one time she had used TechType Mark Infinity. In her field of vision, Tyria saw blue highlights targeting each of the dozen assailants and pinpointing the perfect place to strike to hit them all simultaneously. She smiled, knowing what to do.

And suddenly she blitzed forwards, black gears emerging from her body and spreading into massive wings. Lifting into the air, Tyria reached upwards and invoked; "Machine God's Hammer!" Her dark-skinned arm suddenly transformed into metal, opening and elongating until there was a massive hammer, made of black and blue metal, in place of her right hand. Without further ado, she flexed her wings, before flying downwards and bringing her weapon back for a massive blow.

When it hit, a huge black shockwave erupted from the ground, battering the soldiers and knocking them in every direction.

Her spell reverted, and the demigod strode towards the semi-conscious captain. Seeing their attacker approach, he could not scramble backwards and stammer; "W-what are you?"

Tyria smiled, revealing shiny white teeth. "I'm your worst nightmare. I'm the woman with Machine magic made to kill gods. I'm the Electrian Revolutionary,"

"K-kill . . _gods_?" the captain whispered in horror, realising how outclassed he was.

"Run," the demigod suggested.

Scrambling to his feet and dropping his weapon, the captain turned tail and fled. The rest of his unit was right behind him.

Nodding to herself, Tyria returned to Lync, who was staring in amazement. "That was so cool," he murmured.

"It'll be cooler if we can get everyone home through the portal," she pointed out as her hair softened and returned to normal. She grabbed her coat, too; no sense in leaving it behind.

"Yeah. Let's do that," Lync agreed, realising that explanations would have to come later.

-[CoT]-

And, soon, the remains of the College were packed into the central chamber. The portal, for safety purposes, was created inside a hermetically sealed chamber. Otherwise it would destabilise and possibly destroy everything within three square miles.

"Alright," Alice frowned, eyeing the large doors, waiting to close so that the portal could open. Suddenly, she came to a realisation, looking at the control panel, and at the waiting students. "Oh . ."

"Someone has to stay behind and operate the portal," Tyria surmised.

"I'll do it. I'm the most experienced," the Darkus Brawler immediately declared.

"No. It ought to be me," Headmaster Atsphuria shook his head. "I've devoted my life to protecting my students. I'm not going to let any of you make a sacrifice in my stead,"

"All of you, stop it!" Tyria interrupted. "I can't leave anyway! I've gotta go back and train with my grandfather, remember?"

"Wait, what? You have a grandfather?" Lynn blinked.

Alice irritatedly elbowed him. "Of course she does. _Everyone_ has a grandfather," She rolled her eyes, quietly reflecting that Lync could be so dense sometimes.

"Well - yeah - but I've never heard anything about Tyria's family before!" Lync spluttered. "Where'd this grandfather come from? Why are you training with him, and not us? We came here to train too!"

"It's a kind of training that only I can do," Tyria shrugged helplessly.

"Don't worry," Headmaster Atsphuria assured the two Brawlers. "If it's training you want, I can provide when we're safely in Fiore,"

Alice and Lync exchanged nervous glances. "I guess it's the best option," the Vestal admitted, reluctant.

Alice looked back at Tyria, before suddenly hugging her. "Be safe, okay?" she commanded.

As they let go, Tyria nodded, and her blue eyes flashed. "Don't worry. I can handle myself,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Woo-hoo! I have been building up to this reveal for almost sixty chapters! Man, I can't believe this story lasted thus long!**

 **Oh, also. After reading this chapter, please go ahead and pop over to the Filler Episodes before you read the next chapter! It directly ties in with the Filler that's been posted at the same time as this chapter!**

 **Remember, I still want questions for the Q/A, and I feel like this chapter gave people a lot of material for questions. Don't disappoint me. Peace!**


	26. DA PRINCE WUZ HERE

Chapter 96: Let The Games Begin!

 **Hey, valued reader? Congrats on making it this far through the story! But before you go any further, I want to make sure that you're up to speed with the spin-off story, "Phoenix's Eye: Apocrypha". Because if you haven't been paying attention, the events in Apocrypha have been happening pseudo-simultaneously with the main story, and this is the chapter where the two plotlines merge back into one. So if you haven't already, you should really take a break from this story and go check out that one!**

 **Also, I'm sure you noticed that this chapter is two days early. That's because I'm going on a trip with no internet for a week, and I won't have a chance to post this chapter on the usual Sunday. So hey, we get to start the GMG two days early! Is that awesome or what? Now, on with the story!**

 **A/N**

A/N

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _A/N_

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _Finally! You have no idea how difficult this chapter was to write! Especially since Prince was messing with me the whole way._**

 ** _Prince: Knock knock._**

 ** _Oh. No, you are not -_**

 ** _Prince: Joining you in the Author's Note? I have all of one chapter left to star in. After that, it's a whole lot of nothing. Unless . . let me take a look at your backlog._**

 ** _No! Your plot's over! You do not get to interfere._**

 ** _Prince: Damn, you're only up to Chapter 96? It'll do. See you then! :P_**

 ** _-[CoT]-_**

It was only a couple of days until the beginning of the Grand Magic Games, and after the completion of their training, everyone had returned to the Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall.

With a couple of notable exceptions. Namely, Artorias and Donna. As well as Kenzie and the Black Eye Pirates.

But as Tyria walked back into the guild hall, it was as lively as it had ever been - with the addition of several new Electrian guild members.

 _The Prince of Hell tailed her, striding in behind her and grinning like a maniac as he looked around. "This place looks fun!" he exclaimed._

"Hey! Tyria's back!" Lync exclaimed, recognising their friend.

 _"What, no recognition for the Prince man?" the assassin huffed._

"Tyria?" Pierce immediately twisted in his seat and recognised his girlfriend, before leaping out of the booth and rushing towards her. The bluenette in question beamed, accelerating as the two rushed forwards each other's warm embrace.

For a moment, they were surrounded by stars and nothing existed except the other.

And then Hare raised a hand and murmured; "Fukke navraku jan," With a flash, a green energy projectile shot at Pierce's feet, inflicting a «Stumble» effect that lasted exactly one-fifth of a second.

Which was enough to cause the Tamer to lose his balance and tumble forwards, colliding with Tyria and knocking her backwards, ending with them both collapsing in a heap.

 _Prince burst out laughing._

Pierce blinked, wondering why the ground felt so soft. "What happened?" he asked, trying to pick himself up, but pausing when what should have been solid wood was instead warm flesh.

Tyria spluttered, uncomprehending, as she registered the fact that Pierce's face was buried in her chest.

 _Prince laughed harder._

As Pierce looked up, suddenly realising where he had landed, their eyes met, and Tyria flushed, embarrassed. The blond was about to splutter and insist that he had not been trying to disrupt her virtue, but they were interrupted by Hare and Kit bursting into unrestrained laughter.

Clumsily, they got back to their feet. Boomer rushed over to help them, but he was a little too late. "The sum total of three months of training is, for Hare, the ability to trip people over from across the room," he explained.

"There's more to it than that, you little twerp!" Hare shouted in response.

 _Prince burst into a spontaneous round of applause. "Now that is a good use of time!" he heartily endorsed. "But seriously, why is everyone ignoring me?"_

"So, am I the last person to get home?" Tyria asked, looking around.

 _"Hello?"_

"No. We're still waiting on Artorias and Donna," Pierce explained. "And I heard that Kenzie and her pirate crew are sailing to Crocus directly and will meet us there,"

 _Prince waved his hand in front of Tyria's face. She didn't react._

"Good, you're back!" a familiar voice exclaimed, and everyone looked up to find Feng Chriona leaning on the balcony of the second floor of the guild hall.

"Master!" Tyria grinned, looking up at her.

"Don't get too excited. The old hag's spent the last three months sitting on her ass," Lync huffed.

 _"Boo! Lame! Get out of here, you old bat!" Prince moaned._

"I have been cleaning up the guild's affairs! Do you have any idea how much paperwork piles up in seven years?!" the cantankerous Guild Master roared. "This guild wouldn't even exist anymore if Faraday hadn't kept us afloat!"

"Where is Faraday, anyway?" Pierce asked, stepping forwards. "She's the strongest wizard in our guild. Shouldn't she be here to help out?"

Feng jumped down to the floor of the guild hall and shrugged, shaking her head, her bushy grey hair swung back and forth as she did. "No one's heard from her. I suppose she sees little things like tournaments as beneath her notice,"

Tyria huffed. "Right," she grumbled, discontent but knowing she couldn't affect the outcome.

 _Shaking his head, Prince echoed the sentiment._

"Well, anyway! I think it's time to announce my choices for the team to enter the Grand Magic Games!" Feng declared.

The guild immediately went quiet. Pierce quietly led Tyria back to their table, where Grace, Kit and Kinana were waiting.

 _"Anyone got popcorn? I need some popcorn!" Prince hollered. No one could hear him._

"My first choice is, of course, the most powerful wizard we have available in the guild!" Master Feng declared. "So the leader of our group is . . _myself_!"

Everyone paused at this. "Hey, wait," Hare frowned. "Isn't there a rule against Guild Masters competing?"

Feng smirked. "Yes, there is," she admitted. "But who said I'm the Guild Master?"

From his seat at the bar, Russell grinned. "She's got my blessing,"

As one, a dawning realisation came over the Phoenixes. "You never officially gave Feng back the position of Guild Master, did you?" Sarah realised, addressing Russell.

"Nope," the Paper wizard grinned. "Your Guild Master says give them hell!"

"Hold it!" Everyone turned in surprise again to see Alice furiously rifling through a book. "Sorry, Master, but that's a no-go," the orangette shook her head. "This clause states that no Guild Master, current _or former_ , can enter the Grand Magic Games as a participant," she explained, holding up the book, which was labelled in cursive script; ' _GRAND MAGIC GAMES RULEBOOK_ '.

Feng deflated. "Well, shit," she growled, shaking her head in dismay.

 _Prince rolled his eyes. "Laaaaaaame!"_

"You didn't even read the freaking book?" Russell demanded.

"Neither did you, you old pervert!" the aged woman retorted, ignoring the fact that she was more than twenty years older than him.

There was a moment of silence, before the Fire Wizard shook her head. "Fine," she grumbled. "Well, there is one other powerful wizard we have at our disposal. Someone go find Gabriel Atsphuria. Tell him he's been drafted to enter the Games,"

 _"Buhwha?" Prince spluttered. "Who's that?"_

"Wait. The Headmaster joined the guild?" Tyria asked in surprise.

"Yep. It was a big surprise but we were hardly gonna say no," Lync confirmed.

"Wow. The Headmaster's one of the most powerful men in Electria," the Electrian nodded, getting excited.

"Yeah, if he's fighting for us we're bound to win!" Grace agreed, enthused.

 _Having gone back and read Chapter 35, Prince shook his head. "This might actually be interesting," he muttered in excitement._

"Actually, that's a no go too!" Alice interrupted. "There's another clause stating that any participant in the Games has to have been a member of the guild for at least one year," she shook her head. "I think it was included to prevent rogue wizards from hiring themselves out to guilds to compete for money,"

 _"Bullshit!" Prince protested._

Feng blinked. "Let me see that bloody book!" she demanded, storming over to Alice's seat and wresting it from her grip, before scanning it. ". . . Well, crap," she moaned, before pinching her nose in irritation and turning around. " _Pierce, Tyria, Grace, Boomer, Sarph_. Since Gabriel and I are disallowed and Artorias, Kenzie and Faraday are absent, I'd better pin our hopes on our strongest _team_ rather than our strongest _individuals_. Also, _Hare_ , you're reserve member. Congratulations, you lot,"

"Oi!" Everyone turned to see a tan-coloured cat dressed like a cowboy, with a whip of barbed wire hanging from his belt, speak up. "And why dun't ah get no consideration?" Garrotte grumbled.

 _Prince quirked an eyebrow. "Who are you?"_

"I said strongest team, not strongest individuals. Listen when your Guild Master speaks," Feng snorted.

"Y'all ain't no Guild Master, remember?" Garrotte smirked.

"Like hell I'm not. Russell! If our little loophole is illegitimate, I want my title back!" Feng, obviously still in a bad mood about her plan being foiled, beckoned Russell over and gestured to her office. The older man obligingly followed her.

Everyone looked around at each other as the two Guild Masters disappeared, and several glances went to Team Pierce.

"I guess we're competing!" Grace grinned.

"Go Team Pierce!" Boomer agreed.

"Just so we're clear, I never agreed to that name!" Hare hollered.

 _"Neither did I! I'm gonna kill you all in your sleep!" Prince shouted._

Nonetheless, four glasses were put together, and from her seat Hare also raised a glass.

"Wait," Kit paused, looking around at the humans. "What about me?" he protested.

 _"I suppose you can't see or hear me either," Prince moaned._

Pierce blinked. "Um . ."

"Is this gonna be another 'I have to sit out because I'm a member of the guild and not just one of your beasts' situation?" the yokai groused.

"Probably . ." Grace nodded, and Kit shook his head. "Stupid tattoo,"

"More importantly, where's Sarph?" Grace frowned.

"Out training," Boomer shrugged. "Just because he didn't go anywhere doesn't been he'd been idle,"

"Should we go get him?" Grace asked.

"Naah. We'll catch him up when he turns up for dinner," Pierce assured his sister.

-[CoT]-

In a ditch, on the outskirts of Crocus, there was a massive burst of light.

A boy with blond hair, wearing a khaki jacket and tan-coloured pants, stumbled, trying not to lose his balance in spite of the large, scaly mass slung over his shoulder which he clutched at with his sole remaining arm. He looked around frantically, but soon realised that he was alone.

 _"What the - where am I now?" Prince questioned, looking around in confusion. His gaze settled on Kynigós. "Who's this guy?"_

"I guess we did get separated after all," he sighed, before sitting down on a nearby rock and setting down the being he was carrying. "Good thing I've still got you," he smiled at the young, white baby dragon.

 _Prince frowned. "You just wait here, I'm gonna go read the Apocrypha storyline," he commanded Kynigós, before changing stories and hitting up Log #1._

Zena mumbled something in her sleep, and Kynigós winced. The little dragon had single-handedly re-energised the Eclipse Gate. That had to have taken it out of her. "We can't stay in the open," the hunter resolved. "We need shelter, and I need information. When are we? Did we make it in time? The Dragon King Festival's on July 7, X791," he reminded himself. "I need to find out what the date is. I need a newspaper," the boy realised, looking around.

In the distance, he could see some buildings. It looked like a town. A quiet one.

"Guess that's the target," the hunter resolved.

It took a couple of hours, but soon he managed to reach it, having avoided any of the locals spotting Zena, and quickly holed up in a disused shack, leaving Zena to sleep on the ratty bed.

 _Prince, having finished Apocrypha, looked around in dismay. "What a dump,"_

But Kynigós couldn't sit still and wait for her to wake up. He had to do something. So he decided to hope that he'd be back before Zena woke up, and forged outside, making for the market.

"And what the hell are you supposed to be?" the proprietor of the local newsagent skeptically asked, critically eyeing Kynigós' khaki jacket with its lingering, faded stains of dragon blood, his dirty, messy hair, ragged tan-coloured trousers and the ratty hunter's pack slung over his shoulder. As the man's gaze fell on the hunter's rifle, whose butt protruded over his shoulder, he stiffened, and blustered; "Ah, I don't want no trouble,"

 _"I want you to have trouble," Prince sadistically smirked._

Kynigós paused, following his gaze, and realising where he was looking. "Relax. I just want a paper," he snorted. With shaking hands, the owner gave him a newspaper from a shelf behind the counter, and the hunter eyed the date.

June 28th. X791.

A grim smile tugged at the hunter's lips. "I've got ten days," he nodded, satisfied, before addressing the shopkeeper again. "Hey. What city is this? Am I still in Crocus?"

"Uh - yes," he nodded.

"Thanks," Kynigós nodded, tucking the paper under his arm and deciding to head back to Zena. After months of being on the run, he barely even remembered the idea of paying for something. But that was alright with the shopkeeper. After all, only a crazy person would chase up someone dressed like that for a scant few jewels.

 _"Chase him up! Chase him up! It's what I'd do!" Prince encouraged, shouting in the shopkeep's ear in the vain hope that his words might register._

He hummed to himself as he walked down the street, ignoring the myriad of stares he received for his unusual attire. He had ten days to stop the dragons. But where to start?

A thought occurred to him. The dragons were coming in ten days. But coming from _where_? Ten thousand dragons were hard to hide. "I need a map," Kynigós resolved. Where were they hiding?

-[CoT]-

Two days later, on the 30th of June, the wizards of Phoenix's Eye arrived in Crocus.

"I miss the Garuda," Tyria complained as they got off the train.

"Tell me about it," Pierce sighed.

 _"An airship would be nice. Also, do we really need so many scene breaks?" Prince complained. "I'm getting motion-sick here!"_

"Boomer should already be in the city. He and Ariel went ahead to arrange our accomodations," Sarph recalled.

-[CoT]-

 _Prince rolled his eyes. "A flashback now? Well, I guess it saves time,"_

"Okay, so where are we going to stay during the Games?" Sarph, ever a man of logistics, questioned.

"That's easy," Ariel had suddenly piped up, crossing the guild hall and eyeing Team Pierce. "I have a cousin who lives in Crocus. She has a pretty big place, I'm sure she won't mind having some of us over for a week or so,"

"Great," Pierce immediately endorsed the idea. "And we won't have to pay any rent. Which is good, because heaven knows money is tight,"

-[CoT]-

"Whoa. Ariel's cousin lives here?" Grace gasped.

They were standing outside one of the tallest buildings in Crocus, with whitewashed walls. It looked to be ten floors tall.

"Does she have the entire building? A whole guild could live here," the greenette remarked.

"No. It's one of those new high-rise apartment buildings, with lots of people living on top of one another," Sarph clarified. "Ariel's cousin probably only has one floor, maybe not even that,"

"Well," Tyria glanced down the street and saw the Sonic Boom, it's glowing white streaks looking dim in the sunlight. "We know we're in the right place," she wryly commented.

The five Phoenixes trooped inside, finding themselves in a small lobby. Boomer awaited them, reclining in a velvet armchair. "Oh, hey guys!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Been waiting for you. Come on!" he declared and beckoned to the stairs.

"I thought you hated stairs," Hare snarkily pointed out as their pudgy teammate lead them into the stairwell.

"I do," Boomer adopted a long-suffering expression. "But what's at the top is worth it. Oh, also, about Yuki, -"

"Who's Yuki?" Pierce cocked an eyebrow.

"Ariel's cousin. The one who owns this place. I should warn you, she's . ." Boomer paused, trying to find the right word.

"Come on, spit it out," the cantankerous Speed Wizard demanded.

"I mean, she's nice. Or, at least, not rude. Just . . she's really quiet, and not one for conversation," the stout boy retorted.

Eight floors up, the Phoenixes emerged into a large room. "Whoa," Pierce breathed.

It was sparsely furnished, with carefully cut marble making up the floor. Simple couches were pushed against the walls, with a small coffee table that had a lacrima projector mounted on it nearby. On the other side of the room, a large table with six chairs around it dominated the space. An entire wall was taken up by a massive window. There were no rugs or pictures anywhere, and the entire room was utilitarian and somewhat unfeeling.

One of the doors along the sides of the room swung open, and a familiar bluenette emerged. "Guys!" Ariel exclaimed with a wide smile, waving them over to the couches. "It's good to see you all!"

The seven guildmates took seats around the couches, all looking around. "So, where's our mysterious host?" Pierce questioned.

Ariel blinked. "Huh? Oh - great," she groaned, standing and returning to the door she had entered from. "Yuki! Our guests have arrived!"

After a moment, a petite girl, looking to be the same age as Pierce, Tyria and Boomer, with smooth hair coloured a faded purple, wearing a short-cropped blue dress with a black cardigan over it, as well as blue stockings and brown leather shoes. A book hung loosely from her right hand, and, at Ariel's invitation, she stepped forwards and gazed, somewhat blankly, at the Phoenixes, unable to fully wrest her eyes from the ground. She raised her free hand in silent greeting.

Several members of the group were unnerved by their host. She seemed to exude silence. "Hi!" Grace, ever sunny, beamed.

"Hello," Yuki replied, almost monotonously.

There was a moment of silence.

"So, you own this building? The whole thing?" Pierce asked.

"Yes,"

"But you're, what, sixteen? How did you get it?" Hare asked.

"Inheritance," Yuki informed them without inflection.

"Sorry, she can take a while to warm up to new people," Ariel apologised, while surreptitiously elbowing her cousin, who twitched.

Tyria started. For a second, she had thought she had seen what almost looked like a river of blue and purple light play across Yuki's brown eyes. She looked around, but no one else seemed to have noticed it. "So, Yuki. Do you use magic at all?" she asked, probing.

"Sometimes," Yuki enigmatically responded.

"How much have you heard about Phoenix's Eye?" Sarph tried.

"Everything,"

"Everything?" Hare skeptically questioned.

"Everything," Suddenly, Yuki was eyeing her directly. " _Princess_ Hare," the Speed Wizard blinked in shock. "How did you - ?"

"I keep her well informed," Ariel provided.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I never told _you_ ," the Sylph suspiciously pointed out.

"I overheard it," the water witch responded.

The conversation was interrupted as a door swung shut, and everyone simultaneously realised that Yuki had taken advantage of the argument to slip out.

Ariel sighed and sat down, shrugging helplessly. "Sorry, guys. Yuki's the type who's more comfortable with books than people,"

"She'll probably get along well with Artorias, then," Pierce remarked.

"I don't know. He's been branching out a lot lately," Sarph mused, a clear note of approval in his voice.

"Anyway, though," Ariel smiled. "If memory serves, the preliminary round begins at midnight tonight," she informed the group. "I suggest you get some rest," she advised.

"Can we go explore Crocus? I've never been here before!" Grace eagerly asked, but Pierce shook his head. "No. It's already half past three. We all have to take part in the preliminaries, so we're going to need every drop of magic we can muster. Besides, we'll have plenty of time to explore the city between rounds," he assured her. "The Games run for a week, after all,"

"Oh, alright," the Dragon Slayer sulkily accepted the logic with a pout.

The hours rolled by, several of them taking naps or warming up, and it was half past eleven almost before they knew it.

"So, we're just supposed to stay here?" Tyria asked. "Are they going to teleport us all to the preliminaries or something?"

"I doubt it," Sarph shook his head. "The Games are big, but they don't have that kind of power backing them. They'll probably send an escort or something and want to make sure they know where to find us,"

"Makes sense," the tech wizard admitted, but frowned. Something didn't ring true with that theory . . . if the preliminaries started at midnight, wouldn't there be travel time involved between the places of residence and the location of the tournament?

It wasn't long, though, until a distant bell rang twelve times. It was midnight.

And, suddenly, the building shook, and the Phoenixes were subjected to the strange sensation of rising. "What the heck is going on?" Boomer, who had been abruptly woken up, spluttered.

Everyone rushed to the window, and saw that, all over the city, other buildings were being lifted into the air by some strange machinery. As they were, a giant pumpkin with a green hat and a smiling face appeared in the sky. "That's one big illusion," Sarph nodded.

"Attention, all contestants competing in this year's Grand Magic Games!" A squeaky voice echoed through the entire city, and the Phoenixes took note. "Gooooooooood morning!"

"That's Mato," Tyria recognised. "The mascot, right?"

"Yeah. He must be a big shot," Hare shrugged dismissively.

The somewhat unsettling voice continued; "To narrow down the one hundred and thirteen guilds in this year's games to a more manageable eight, let's begin the preliminary round!"

"Hold on, how many?" Tyria blinked.

"I didn't know there were that many legal guilds in Fiore," Pierce remarked.

"Although the number of guilds increase and multiply every year, 'the games have gotten boring now', is all I ever hear!" Mato was now fully formed in the air and doing a little jig.

"Great, now he's rhyming," Hare, already unimpressed by the cartoonish character, rolled her eyes as he continued. "Let's whittle them down, I say to you, and give just eight a cheer! The rules for this preliminary round are simple. Now, you will all be participating in a race! The finish line is at the Domus Flau coliseum! Only the first eight teams to reach it will move on to the Grand Magic Games!"

"He's certainly quite chipper," Sarph observed, before starting as a path of stone slabs appeared before them just outside the window, leading up into the sky.

"You're free to use magic in any way you see fit. There are no restrictions!" Mate beamed, throwing his hands upwards and keeping up the wide smile. "But remember; only the first eight teams to reach the finish line will clear this round! However, all five team members must cross the goal for it to count!"

"Guess there's no splitting up," Tyria sighed.

"Works for me," Pierce admitted. "We're Phoenix's Eye's strongest team, remember? We're better together,"

"One more thing," Mato's voice took on an even more sinister tone. "We are not responsible for any loss of life that may occur in the Labyrinth,"

"Wait, what did he just say?" Sarph blinked.

"That we might die?" Grace blanched.

"No, not that. What 'Labyrinth'?" the knight questioned, and Tyria sweatdropped. "Good to know you have your priorities straight,"

"Look!" Ariel commanded, and the seven Phoenixes raised their heads to the sky, which was suddenly dominated by a massive, spherical construction full of confusingly intricate geometry. "Whoa," the Dragon Slayer gasped.

"So! Without further ado!" Mato shouted. "Let the Grand Magic Games Preliminary Round begin!"

"Alright, you heard him! Let's get to it!" Pierce shouted. "Phoenix's Eye forever!"

The rest of the team took up the catchcry. "Phoenix's Eye forever!"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **{looks at chapter title} I think Prince is trolling me.**

 **Prince: You got it! Catch me if you can! :P**

 **Actually, it's a funny coincidence that you should pop up in this particular chapter. I'd like you to meet Yuki Nagato.**

 **Yuki: Hello.**

 **Prince: . . Oh crap I thought I was the only one!**

 **Oh, you have no idea. {chuckles}**

 **Yuki: Goodbye.**

 **Prince: Oh n01001111-**

 **Moving on from that bit of unpleasantness. The Grand Magic Games are officially starting! Finally! Seriously, I have been waiting for this for so long. I have so many plans. Phoenix's Eye is going to pull so much crap these Games. It's gonna be awesome!**

 **. . . I said back when I originally wrote this chapter and discovered, twelve chapters later, that the GMG has been the hardest arc to write for yet. I do not like this format. Just putting that on record here. My muse does not like the tournament format.**

 **Anyway, hope everyone's excited! Peace!**


	27. OT7: Adventure (Matthew Parker)

Chapter 97: OT7: Adventure (Matthew Parker)

 _You and me_

Pierce and Cubelios stare at each other on the top of a hill.

 _We found adventure_

Pierce extends a hand, and the giant snake lets him rest it on her head.

 _I never dreamed that you would change my world forever_

Suddenly, Cubelios becomes Kinana, and Pierce takes her hand with a smile.

 _But here we are (but here we are)_

The Infinity Castle looms above them with the Neo Oracion Och standing on top.

 _I'm ready to conquer_

Cobra starts, seeing the two of them, but Brain II holds out a hand and smiles with menace.

 _Ready to fight injustice like I'm fighting monsters_

Raya appears, and, with Pierce and Kinana on her back, she flies towards the Castle.

 _Life is black and blue_

Tyria is in the air, using her Machine God's Hammer on Alvarez soldiers.

 _Happy then it's sad_

She lands and reverts, as Lync watches, looking slightly afraid.

 _Just call it an adventure_

Ariel looks up at the Phoenix's Eye symbol above the doors of the guild hall.

 _Then it ain't so bad_

She grins, and blue lights play over her eyes for a second.

 _Together we touch the sky_

The clouds part, and the Infinity Castle descends from the sky, sending out shockwaves of magic in every direction.

 _Wherever we go we fly_

Aluze screams like a maniac with Lync clutching its head as it falls out of the sky like a meteor.

 _Forever we know adventure's in the air tonight_

A massive tornado appears in the sky, glowing with swirling blue light. Ariel stands in the centre, wielding her trident. The symbol of Phoenix's Eye appears, made of lightning, in front of her.

 _Together we touch the sky_

A rush of fire streaks up Mt. Zheng, until Pierce, riding Raya, bursts from the top with a gout of flame.

 _Wherever we go we fly_

Tyria, clad in her Machine God armour and wielding her Machine God's Hammer, falls from the sky, bringing her hammer down on the ground.

 _Forever we know adventure's in the air tonight_

Brain II stands before the open sky, and for a brief second, everything turns black.

 _Our dreams will come alive_

Phoenix's Eye stands together, every member resolute, and their guild marks glow through their clothes.

 _Ah, Ah, Ah_

"So, do you guys do this a lot?" Kenzie whispered.

 _Our dreams will come alive_

Boomer hissed; "Shush! We're dynamically posing!"

Lance broke position and turned to look incredulously at Boomer. "What do you mean, 'dynamic'? We're standing still! That's static!"

"Yeah, and we looked really cool until you ruined it!" the Sound Wizard huffed.

-[CoT]-

Crouched in the rafters of Kardia Cathedral, Quarla sat and reflected to herself on what had happened during the fight against Canceller.

 _"If we win like that, we're no better than them!"_ Grace's words echoed in her mind.

 _"Who said we have to be?"_ Her own callous retort followed after it.

". . Was I wrong?" she wondered.


	28. CT7: A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton)

hapter 98: CT7: A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton)

 _Making my way downtown, walking fast,_

Sarah is leading Ariel and Eve, all with baskets full of groceries in hand, down the main thoroughfare of Magnolia.

 _Faces pass, and I'm home bound_

Ariel and Eve are both lost in their thoughts, a shadow shaped like Erik hovering over Kinana, while an unknown man haunts Ariel's memories.

 _Staring blankly ahead, just making my way_

Blue lights play across Ariel's eyes as she meanders towards the guild hall, taking no notice of her surroundings.

 _Making a way, through the cro-o-owd_

People whose faces have disappeared from her memory pass her by in a featureless, skin-coloured blur.

 _And I need you_

Meanwhile, Kinana sighs, staring into the clouds and narrowly avoiding bumping into a passer-by.

 _And I miss you_

The clouds briefly form into Erik's face, and she stops moving, pining over her lost love.

 _And now I wonder_

Sarah takes both girls' hands and drags them in the right direction, looking annoyed. Ariel and Kinana are both evidently still lost in their thoughts.

 _If I could fall into the sky_

Kinana, looking dizzy, stops in a field. The camera swivels until she is upside-down and the sky is spread out beneath her.

 _Do you think time would pass me by?_

Far below her, the Infinity Castle shines, sending an upwards wave of Real Nightmare that makes everything blurry.

 _'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles_

Kinana, dazed, keeps walking, Real Nightmare passing her by harmlessly as her Phoenix's Eye mark shines to counteract the magic's effects.

 _If I could just see you,_

She and Erik are right-way-up again, walking towards each other, staring into each other's eyes.

 _If I could just hold you,_

The two finally meet and embrace with a passionate kiss.

 _Tonight_

As the closing music plays, Ariel watches them and looks almost longing.

-[CoT - Chapter 92: A Storm Brewing]-

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _Ariel watched Brain II warily. "Did you sacrifice anything?"_

 _He hissed, striding forwards with arms outstretched and bent. "I sacrificed_ myself _,"_

 _-[CoT]-_

 _The man screamed as red light shone from his every pore. And then he was just gone._

 _-[CoT]-_

With a flash of red light, Brain II appeared on a polished, pink floor, inlaid with gold. He gritted his teeth, looking down at the three holes in his chest from where Ariel Nagato had stabbed him with her trident. It was a good thing that he was immortal.

"Report," a cold voice commanded him.

Brain II looked up at his master and shook his head. "Mission failed. Cardinal intervened. There is a Nagato monitoring Phoenix's Eye,"

"Unfortunate, but expected," the other shook their head. "Confirm your next objective?"

"Observe the timeline fracture at the Grand Magic Games. If I experience the Dragon King Festival, I am to kill Lucy Heartfilia and Pierce Kynigós. If the Festival is averted, I am to infiltrate Crime Sorciere and monitor Jellal Fernandez," Brain II confirmed.

"Excelle -" His superior was interrupted by a scream coming from below them. "Is that your freaky copy of me? Let me out! Right now! I need to help my friends!" a familiar voice shouted.

Brain II sighed, and his commander pinched their nose, before raising a hand. At his command, a section of the floor retracted and machinery whirred, before a large, cylindrical cage emerged from the ground.

This cage contained Macbeth, formerly known as Midnight, once a member of the Oracion Och. He looked half-starved, pale and gaunt, his body animated only by desperate, manic energy. "It is you!" he shouted, glaring at Brain II. "Give me back my face, you imposter!"

"Would you quiet him?" his superior disinterestedly suggested.

"Gladly," Brain II rose, crossed to the cage containing his duplicate, and took careful aim, before punching him in the head between the bars of the cave. Dazed, Macbeth collapsed back to the ground.

"You should feel honoured," Brain II snorted at Macbeth, who peered at him through a haze. "Your meagre existence is a boon to the Canopy. Few humans can say the same. Behave, and perhaps you might even join the ranks of the TFEI someday,"

"Fuck . . you," Macbeth moaned, before the cage disappeared back into the floor.

"Humans. So barbaric," Brain II murmured. "I must return. Further commands?" he directly requested.

"None,"

"Understood," With that, Brain II rose and returned to the doorway of light, stepping through and back into the outskirts of Magnolia, nearby some debris of the Infinity Clock. "For the eternal dominion of the Canopy," he nodded to his commander, before the door closed behind him.

"For the eternal dominion of the Canopy," the man nodded, leaning forwards and revealing a gaunt, taut face clad in green leather armour. "Tick tock, tick tock," Clockwork, former End of Thursday and member of Kairos End, muttered with a smile.


	29. One More Hurrah

Chapter 99: One More Hurrah

"Hey, wait!" Ariel suddenly shouted. "That window doesn't open!"

The five wizards who were competing paused, looking at the large window between them and the path leading into the Sky Labyrinth.

"Easy," Grace snorted, reality rippling in her hands, and suddenly the window flickered. "There!" With that, she leapt into the spatial distortion she had engineered and vanished.

"I think she opened a portal straight into the Labyrinth," Sarph observed.

"I'm with you!" Pierce agreed, throwing himself into the rift behind her. Boomer, Tyria and Sarph followed, and, sure enough, they were standing at the top of the path into the Labyrinth. Grace smiled as space snapped back into its normal alignment.

"That bought us an early lead. Let's follow through," the golden knight declared, looking around.

The Phoenixes blinked.

The Sky Labyrinth was an omnidirectional maze of floating platforms, stairs and other absurd constructions, spreading as far as the eye could see. A growing smile spread across Grace's face as she looked around. "This place is awesome!" she exclaimed, ecstatic.

"Yeah. I guess this is like a dream for you," Pierce agreed, knowing that an arena like this would play to his adoptive sister's strengths.

"Alright, which direction?" Boomer questioned.

"East," Sarph declared, peering through the maze of passages. "Domus Flau is that way," he declared, pointing at the distant mountain.

"I'm on it!" Grace agreed, targeting a platform and opening another spatial rift. "Let's go!" she declared, throwing herself headlong into the rift. Within seconds, she appeared in mid-air, and quickly bent gravity, falling upwards onto another platform and reorienting herself so that the city above was in place of the sky. The rest of the team landed behind her, Boomer looking a little dizzy.

"Shame Hare's not here," Tyria lamented. "She could search this entire place and find the exit in five minutes,"

"Well, I've got the next best thing," Boomer grinned, slamming his boombox into the ground and pressing a button. Immediately, the machine started playing a smooth, oscillating tone that echoed in all directions.

"What's that?" Pierce questioned.

"Echolocation," the Sound Wizard explained. "It's one of the new upgrades. It'll track our surroundings and give us a map,"

"What was that?" The Phoenixes looked up in surprise, seeing an unfamiliar group of wizards on a nearby platform eyeing them. "Did you lot just say you had a map?"

"Of the immediate area, sure," Boomer nodded, only half paying attention as he focused on his boombox. Meanwhile, Pierce and Sarph stiffened. They could see where this was going.

"Get 'em, boys! If we get that map, victory will be assured for Titan Nose!" The leader of the enemy wizards commanded, leading his team in a charge along the platform towards the Phoenixes.

Pierce groaned, but then noticed that they had to go around a right-angle bend to reach their position. "Grace, when they round that corner, launch a wide-burst Roar at them," he instructed.

"You got it!" the Dragon Slayer grinned, moving to the front of the group and inhaling.

"You're gonna send a little girl to fight all of us at once?" the leader questioned as he rounded the corner of the platform, his teammates in hot pursuit.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she's up to it," Pierce declared, as his sister breathed in deeply, before shouting; "Reality Dragon's Roar!" A conical burst of grey spatial energy smashed through the members of Titan Nose. While it wasn't strong enough to knock them all out at once, the force of the blow knocked them off their feet and sent them flying backwards . . . over the edge of the platform.

The Phoenixes watched as the five wizards fell, screaming, out of the maze and to the ground below. "That was easy," Sarph observed.

"One down, one hundred and six to go," Tyria grinned.

Boomer smiled as a blue hologram appeared, projected above his boombox. "I've got it! Alright, let's go!" he declared, forging onwards.

"Everyone, cover Boomer!" Pierce commanded, quickly overtaking the Sound wizard and shouting over the continued oscillating tone. "You can't fight properly as long as you're keeping that up, can you?" he guessed, and Boomer nodded. "Yeah,"

"Doesn't matter. Let's keep moving," Tyria declared, crackling her knuckles.

So the Phoenixes started navigating the Labyrinth, constantly moving east. Every few minutes they'd encounter a rival team and have to beat them out of the game. But it was forty-five minutes into the maze - and halfway across Crocus - that they encountered their first real obstacle.

Grace frowned, a faint noise to her sensitive ears the first indication of something being amiss. She held up her arms and told her friends; "Everyone, hold on. I hear something,"

Tyria was immediately on alert, looking around. "What's wrong?"

Suddenly, all around them, the lights dimmed, before a brightness shone from a platform just above them. Looking up, the five wizards could see a massive, silhouetted 'R' made of intricate metalwork, with three people standing before it. "What the heck?" Pierce blinked.

"Prepare for trouble! You hear something, do you?" a female, musical voice shouted down at them.

"And make it double; we'll explain it to you!" a mature, male voice added with a snide tone.

"To protect the world from devastation," the female chimed in.

"To unite all people within our nation!" the male continued triumphantly.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Pierce cocked an eyebrow at this one. Truth and love were evil now?

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" Tyria shrugged. She'd been there. They weren't so special.

"Jessie!" The light dimmed, revealing a woman with a diamond-shaped face, long pink hair styled backwards into a swirl, and wearing a black-and-white jumpsuit with a red 'R' printed on its chest.

"And James," the other voice continued, now seen to be a man with shaggy purple hair, wearing a similar jumpsuit that was more contoured to a male body.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" Jessie commanded, leering down at Team Pierce.

"Surrender now, or prepare for a Grand Magic fight!" James agreed, pointing directly at Pierce.

"Meow, that's right!" Their gazes were drawn to a short, tan-coloured cat with a gold coin on his forehead, standing with the two. "They have an Exceed," Pierce observed in curiosity.

"You're another one of the teams competing, aren't you?" Tyria questioned.

"I thought teams were supposed to be five people?" Boomer frowned.

"Fools. Five is merely the maximum. You could enter the Games with a one-man team if you wished!" James retorted.

"Yeah, but you'd have to be an absolute idiot not to get as much help as you can," Sarph skeptically pointed out. A tick mark appeared on Jessie's forehead, and she tried to repress the urge to shout at him.

"These guys don't look so tough. They're just drama queens," the bluenette scoffed, unimpressed.

"Oh yeah?!" Jessie snapped. "Well, you're a bunch of lousy little twerps!"

"Let me take this one. It's a good opportunity," Pierce grinned, before playing a quick tune on his flute. With a flash of red and white, Aron appeared on the ground before them with a squeaky roar.

Grace giggled. "Aww, he thinks he's scary,"

"You wouldn't approve if you knew what he just said," Pierce shook his head, wondering where on earth the little Pokemon had learned that kind of language.

James raised his eyebrows. "Interesting," he observed, before a wide smile spread across his face. "Jessie, that little thing looks powerful. Let's capture it for the boss!"

"I agree. Alright, Meowth, go get that critter! Use Fury Swipes!" Jessie commanded. Obligingly, the Exceed leapt down from the platform, his claws glowing with white light.

"Did he just say he wanted to take Aron?" Grace blinked.

"Not on my watch," Pierce frowned. Over the course of the last three months, while training Aron he had discovered that the Pokemon was capable of several abilities that could be used a certain number of times sequentially. He'd further noticed that Aron tended to react when he instructed the Pokemon to perform these 'moves', and together they had come up with according names that seemed appropriate. "Iron Defence!" Pierce commanded, and Aron's body glistened silver as the Exceed's sharpened claws met his metal skin.

They bounced off, leaving faint scratches but without seriously injuring the Steel-type. "Okay, now Iron Head!" Pierce commanded.

 _"I won't let you touch my Master!"_ Aron shrieked, headbutting the unfortunate cat and knocking him backwards.

"I'm noticing a theme here," Tyria observed.

"This isn't working. Meowth, return!" James observed, and, obligingly, the tan cat leapt back up to the platform. "I'm going now!" the purple-haired man declared, charging forwards. Purple liquid built in his hands as the man declared; "Poison Sting!"

Pierce stiffened as Aron, unable to dodge in time, was hit head on by the poisonous attack. "He uses poison magic? Crap," he gulped.

 _"Don't worry, Master, I'm a Steel Type, remember?"_ Aron called back, before head butting James away again.

"And . . what's a Steel Type?" Pierce questioned.

 _"Immune to poison!"_ Aron declared as James picked himself up.

A smile tugged at Pierce's lips. "Is that so?" he grinned. "Alright! Use Take Down!" he commanded.

"He can talk to animals now. I see," Sarph quietly observed. "Yup!" Grace nodded eagerly.

 _"On it, Master!"_ The small creature charged forwards with surprising speed and smashed into James' legs. The man's eyes went wide, and there was a faint noise like glass cracking as he collapsed, clutching at his nether regions.

Pierce, Sarph and Boomer all winced. No one deserved that.

"Ugh!" Suddenly, James sunk into a shadowy portal and reappeared near Jessie and Meowth. "If you want something done right, do it yourself!" the woman huffed, glaring at the Phoenixes.

"She's got a point. We need to keep moving," Tyria agreed. "We should wrap this up,"

"Yeah, agreed," Pierce played a tune to recall Aron to the flute's pocket dimension, before pressing his hands together. "Take Over: Phoenix Soul!" His body burst with orange and gold feathers, wings sprouting through his jacket and plumage running down his head. Feeling the flames of his partner course through his body, Pierce lifted off, inhaling, before launching Raya's finisher. "Solar Blast!"

Team Rocket paled as the orb of fiery energy shot through the air towards them, before exploding before them. Amidst the conflagration, the sheer recoil threw them away into the distance, and Jessie had just enough time to shriek; "We're blasting off agaaaaaaaaiiin!" before the three vanished into the night sky.

"That was weird," Grace observed.

Pierce landed and reverted. "There are some strange characters out there," he shrugged.

Tyria nodded in agreement. "Yeah, remember that Metal Make wizard who would never stop talking?" she recalled her fight against Motormouth during the tussle with Severed Tusk.

"Not to mention Laughing Coffin," Sarph put forwards.

"Or Regykraeon," Boomer shivered. "But I guess, in the end, the joke was on him,"

"Guys, as much as I appreciate a walk down memory lane, we've gotta move east," Pierce interrupted, and everyone nodded. "Good. Boomer?"

The Sound Wizard consulted his map. "This way," he declared, leading onwards.

-[CoT]-

"Um, this might be a problem," Boomer observed.

Team Pierce had finally reached the easternmost edge of the Sky Labyrinth. Or, at least, the easternmost part of the parts that existed.

From this vantage point, they could see that the confusing, gravity-warped maze that they had been navigating was only an outer shell around what looked like a solid core, with several passages that they could see leading into the central part. It was from this centre of the maze that a long tunnel extended, directly linking the Labyrinth to Domus Flau, in the distance, and the maze had been cleared like brush around the tunnel.

And there was no other route to Domus Flau.

"Have we been going the wrong way all this time?" Tyria irritably demanded.

Sarph frowned. "We might have to backtrack," he observed, looking back into the maze.

"No. That'll take too long," Pierce shook his head, peering at the tunnel again.

Grace saw his expression. "What are you thinking?"

"Tyria. You have a drill, right?" Pierce addressed his girlfriend, who nodded. A smile grew on her face, seeing where this was going.

Pierce promptly rattled off a tune on his flute, and the portal manifested, expelling Raya. The phoenix shrieked, looking around, before pausing. "You need me for transportation again, don't you?" she sighed.

"Pretty much, yeah. Just a short flight," Pierce assured his partner, beckoning to Boomer, the only wizard present who couldn't fly. "Climb on. Everyone else, meet you down there,"

"TechType: Jetpack!" Tyria invoked, and Sarph summoned his Aera wings. Meanwhile Grace tore open a rippling spatial distortion and leapt into it, appearing in mid-air, where she bent space again so that another rift caught her and dropped her on top of the enclosed passageway leading to Domus Flau. Moments later, the rest of the team landed around her.

"Alright," Pierce grinned, tapping the stone roof under their feet. "Tyria, you know what to do,"

"You got it," the bluenette declared, pressing her forearms together as a blue, gear-like magic circle appeared around them. "TechType: Drill!" From the elbow down, her arms mechanised and fused together, expanding into concentric circles that ended in a titanium drill bit, which immediately whirred to life. Without hesitation, she reversed the weapon and plunged it into the stone.

The rest of the team stepped back as stone shards and chunks of debris were sent flying in all directions as Tyria carved a furrow into the stone, pushing onwards and onwards to excavate a tunnel large enough for even Sarph to enter.

And, suddenly, there was no resistance, and she squeaked, before the immense weight of the drill bit dragged her in and she hastily shut down the spell. "I think we're there!" Tyria called up, before jumping into the revealed hole. The rest of Team Pierce followed.

The Electrian landed on a bridge and immediately took stock of her surroundings. It seemed that she was on an endless bridge that went in two directions above a seemingly endless ocean. Looking up, she had the disconcerting experience of seeing a hole in the perceived sky through which her teammates were emerging, though her confidence in reality was assuaged by the knowledge that it was all an illusion.

Pierce landed next to her, the rest of the group following. "Well, there's only one way to go. Come on, there's no time to lose!" And so, with the Tamer leading the way, Phoenix's Eye ran full tilt in the direction that should lead to Domus Flau.

"Hey - I see someone ahead of us!" Grace pointed out. Pierce blinked, and squinted. Sure enough, there was another group of wizards a little ways ahead of them.

"We can probably leave them alone," Boomer reasoned.

"But what if they're in eighth place?" Sarph questioned.

Everyone paused. If the team ahead of them was eighth, and arrived before them . . they'd lose the preliminaries and not get into the main tournament.

"Grace?" Pierce asked. "Send them back to the start of this tunnel,"

"On it," Grace agreed, speeding forwards, before placing a reality warp right before the team that was ahead of them . . and another as far back down the tunnel as she could see. "Good thinking, bro. This way we'll place ahead of them, but if we're above eighth then they should still get to place. That's fair,"

"We could just beat the crap out of them," Tyria offered, but Pierce shook his head. "No sense in picking unnecessary fights,"

Due to the repetitive nature of the seemingly endless bridge, Quattro Cerberus didn't even notice as they ran straight into the rift and onto the area of the bridge that they had already traversed, putting them well behind Phoenix's Eye.

"Man, déjà vu," Rocker observed. "Is it just me, or have we been in this area before?"

"Hey, where did those guys come from?" an unfamiliar voice came from behind Quattro Cerberus, and the five wizards span . . to see Natsu Dragneel and the remainder of Team Fairy Tail glaring at them with menacing smiles.

"Attack!" Erza Scarlet commanded. A mere few minutes later, Quattro Cerberus was out of the running.

But back with Phoenix's Eye, the members of Team Pierce saw the bridge faintly come to an end, leading up to a large door with a familiar figure at the top. "Hey, it's Pumpkin-face!" Grace exclaimed, seeing Mato waiting at the door.

"Hallo, wizards of Phoenix's Eye!" the mascot exclaimed. "What a pleasure to see you here!"

"Does this mean we won the preliminary round?" Pierce questioned.

"Well, 'won' is a little subjective," Mato pressed his fingers together. "You've qualified for the main tournament, that's for sure,"

"Great, but where did we place? First? Second?" Tyria demanded.

"Not exactly. More like . ." The Phoenixes brightened, waiting to hear.

"Seventh,"

Five sets of eyes blinked.

"Well, at least we beat one team," Pierce muttered as the rest of the group collapsed.

"Let's just go inside," Tyria grumbled, picking herself up and pushing the door open

"By all means. See you at the start of the tournament!" Mato waved as they entered.

"Hey, don't worry, everyone. The preliminary round isn't worth any points, what's important is, we're in the running," Sarph pointed out.

"Yeah. And we're gonna win this tournament," Pierce grinned.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Let the Games begin!**

 **Also, sorry but Chapter 100 has been finalised and is ready to post next week. So I am no longer accepting questions. Peace!**

-[CoT]-

That same night, while the preliminaries were going on, Princess Hisui was slumped in the chair at her desk, in her royal chambers. She massaged her forehead.

After the visitation she'd had not long ago from the man who claimed to be from the future - Ryos, she believed - everything had seemed wrong. His predictions were absurd, and she had no idea what to make of them. Ten thousand dragons would attack Crocus in a week? How was she even supposed to react to that?

"Nice place," an unfamiliar voice offered. Hisui jolted awake, snatching up her Celestial Keyring and leaping out of her chair, wildly looking around for her assailant.

"Over here," the voice laconically declared, and the princess turned to see a man leaning against the frame of the door that opened onto the balcony. "So, you're the princess, right? I heard from Lucy that you're the one to talk to about the Eclipse Gate,"

Hisui blinked. "How do you know about the Gate?" she demanded.

"I used it to come back in time from X798," the man explained, emerging into the light. Hisui saw that he was wearing a khaki jacket with a shirt underneath that was so faded and dirtied she could no longer tell what colour it might have once been, with stained, torn, tan trousers. Hazel eyes glistened in the light, framed by blond hair that fell around his face in an 'M'. The light gleamed off his left hand unnervingly, and Hisui noticed that it seemed to be made of metal. A prosthetic? But above all else, her gaze was drawn to the rifle butt that protruded above his right shoulder.

"Another time traveller?" she surmised, keeping her tone level.

Kynigós blinked. "What do you mean, 'another'?" he demanded.

"Well, I met someone else who claimed to have come from the year X798 a few days ago. He span me a story about ten thousand dragons attacking at the end of the Games and wiping out humanity, and that he came back in time using the Eclipse Gate. I suppose you're a friend of his?" Hisui asked.

Kynigós snarled. "Ryos, was it? He's no friend of mine,"

The princess raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you should sit down," she suggested.

Obligingly, the hunter rested on a stool, and took off his backpack. The ratty bag was covered in dirt and stains, with dozens of pouches attached to it, and several cords hanging out of it, and Hisui eyed it with interest as Kynigós reached into it and produced an equally ratty leather-bound book, with faded gold leaf printed on the cover in the shape of an avian eye, encircled by twin feathers. "Here, it's my journal," he tossed it to her, and the princess caught it. "Start at page 71. Everything before that is before I first time travelled,"

Hisui raised an eyebrow at the implication that the man before her had time travelled multiple times, but nodded, leafing through the pages, many of which were stained with ink, sweat, tears and, on occasion, blood, and found the first words.

 _My name is Deadeye Pierce Kynigós. And I have no idea what the_ actual fuck _is going on . . ._


	30. Penny, for your Thoughts

Chapter 100: Penny, For Your Thoughts

After passing through the door at the end of the preliminary round, the five wizards of Phoenix's Eye found themselves in what looked like a changing room.

"Huh?" Tyria frowned, looking around. She immediately span to address a question to Mato, but found that the door had vanished behind them.

"Intriguing," Sarph observed, looking around. "The sheer volume of magic power used in the Games' mechanics is breathtaking,"

"Yeah, that's great, but how are we supposed to get back to our apartment to go to sleep?" the Electrian questioned.

The other four wizards blinked. Now _that_ was a good question.

Grace looked around. "I'm not sure we're supposed to leave," she offered uncertainly.

"That can't be right. Do they want us to nap on the benches or something?" Pierce skeptically questioned, regarding the hard wooden benches that rimmed the room.

Everyone's gazes turned to the sole remaining door in the room, a large red one. "Bet I could break it down," Tyria offered.

"No, we'd probably get disqualified," Sarph shot her down.

Everyone froze as the door's lock clicked, before swinging inwards. The Phoenixes looked, eagerly, at the newcomer . . only to be shocked as a familiar woman entered. Her long, blonde ponytail bobbed as the light reflected off her purple-rimmed, half-moon spectacles, matching her undershirt and stockings. Her petite frame was covered primarily by a ruby-red cardigan and skirt, with similarly coloured slippers adorning her feet.

"Good middle of the night, everybody!" Penny Prince excitedly beamed at Team Pierce.

"Hey, it's the crazy reporter chick who has a crush on Boomer," Pierce observed.

At this accusation, Penny blanched, a flush creeping across her cheeks. "N-no I don't!" she protested. "But enough about me! I knew you'd make it to the main event, I just knew it!" the young woman squealed.

Tyria paused. "Hold on," she raised an eyebrow. "We haven't seen you in six years. But you don't look like you've grown at all!"

Penny shrugged. "Sorcerer Weekly has some great pharmaceutical contacts," she brushed the implicit question aside.

The demigoddess raised an electric blue eyebrow. "But you aren't even any talle-"

"I said enough about me!" Penny bellowed, before suddenly beaming again. "Now, I heard you want to get back to your apartment, right? Come with me," she gestured to the door.

"How did you know that?" Pierce blinked.

The blonde shot him a cryptic wink. "You can learn a lot of things from listening at keyholes," she declared, leading the way into an atrium outside. Looking around, Team Pierce observed that, in lieu of a fourth wall, one side of the atrium opened outwards into a space so massive they couldn't see the walls or ceiling. "What's out there?" Grace questioned.

"Why, Domus Flau, of course. This is gonna be Phoenix's Eye's changing rooms. The arena's just out there, but you'll see it plenty over this coming week. But right now we want to go this way," Penny explained, leading them to another door that opened into a corridor. Obligingly, the group followed their eccentric friend.

As they made their way down the corridor, Penny suddenly span on her heels and reversed her stride, effortlessly walking backwards and keeping pace with the group. "Say, while I've got you like this, mind if I ask a few questions? I just love to do editorials about participants in the Games,"

"Or about Phoenix's Eye in general," Pierce guessed.

"That too! Okay, first question," Penny pulled an envelope out of her cardigan and tore it open.

"Wait, we didn't agree . . hold on, is this another one of those 'fan submitted question' things?" Boomer raised an eyebrow.

"You got it!" Penny grinned. "Okay, Boomer. What would happen if you used a Sound Magic attack based on a lullaby? Would it put people to sleep?"

"Uh . ." Boomer sweatdropped, thinking back.

-[CoT]-

"Okay, let's see if I can put people to sleep!" Boomer, only twelve at the time and showing off his new boombox to his guildmates, targeted the bar at the guild hall, where Russell, Larry and Wesley were nursing glasses of beer.

The next thing they knew, all three had been bodily lifted into the air and thrown over the bar by the sound of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' playing at fifty megahertz.

Russell was up in a flash, and with bulging eyes shouted . . something. No one could hear a thing over the incredibly loud lullaby.

Boomer hastily shut it off. "Sorry!"

The Paper wizard blinked, before yelling; "PARDON?!"

-[CoT]-

"Increasing the volume of a lullaby actually just makes it less likely to put people to sleep," Boomer shrugged.

"Well, someone's gonna be disappointed to hear that," Penny sighed. "Okay, what have we got next . . Grace!" She read through the question. "Apparently someone is desperate to know how you stopped to talk to Numbuh 3 about Rainbow Monkeys while you were destroying the KND treehouse,"

Pierce blinked. "Wait, what? How do people know about that?"

"I get questions from all over," Penny assured him.

"Uh . . oh, you mean that girl in the green sweater?" Grace blinked. "She was mean," she admitted. "It went like this," she started, drawing breath, but Penny stopped her. "Actually, wait. We've already had one anecdote, and there'll probably be more. We should really save that story for a Filler Episodes chapter,"

". . . For a what?" Grace blinked in confusion.

"It's Penny," Pierce shrugged, and his sister nodded sagely.

"What's that's supposed to mean?" the reporter scoffed, before shaking her head. "Eh, whatever," They reached a door, to which Penny produced a key and unlocked, leading the Phoenixes into a large service area with what looked like a slightly rusted freight elevator. "Next question," She fished out an envelope, but was interrupted by Tyria pointing out, "Are we taking a freight elevator back down to street level?"

"Would you rather take the stairs?" the reporter scathingly retorted.

The Electrian considered this for a moment, remembering that Domus Flau was built on top of a mountain, and obligingly stepped onto the elevator as Penny read out; "Pierce. How are things with your pa?"

The Tamer blinked as the freight elevator whirred to life, beginning its descent. "Eh. To be honest, I don't really care," he admitted. "I'm just done with him, you know? We're different people, and the only thing we have in common is our hair colour. There's just . . nothing between us anymore,"

"I wonder if he feels the same?" Penny inquisitively mused. "Eh, maybe a question for later. Now, what's next?" She fished out another envelope. "This is for . . me?" she squeaked in surprise, ripping it open. "Am I going to ask Boomer out?"

The Phoenixes all quirked an eyebrow. Boomer looked especially surprised.

"Damnit . . ThePinkJirachi," Penny sighed, squinting at the signature. "I was going to save that for after the Games,"

"I can recommend some restaurants?" Sarph suggested, waving open an Archive screen. "There's Chez Albert, real swanky,"

"Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself?" Boomer spluttered. "I haven't said yes yet!"

"You're not going to say yes?" Penny squeaked, looking downcast.

"I didn't say that either!" Boomer hastily retorted.

"So you _are_ going to say yes!" The reporter seized on the opening, and Boomer spluttered; "Well, um,"

"Then it's settled. 7 o'clock on Wednesday night. I'll see you at Chez Albert's. You can't miss it, it's the only olive green building in the city," Penny winked at him.

"Um . . okay," Boomer gulped, before whispering to Sarph; "Is that place expensive?"

"Yes," the knight agreed.

"But all my money's tied up in trying to get a new house," the Sound wizard moaned.

The freight elevator stopped and its six riders left, crossing a wide atrium as Penny fished out another envelope from her pocket. It wouldn't come without a struggle, though, and by the time she finally extricated from her pocket, they had left the storage area and were out on the streets of Crocus. "Finally," Penny grumbled, opening the letter. "Blah blah monster hunter, blah blah card games, ah. Sarph!"

The knight brightened.

"Do you have any love interests?"

This was not the question Sarph was preparing for. "Um . . not really," He shrugged. "I suppose I just haven't found the right woman. Not yet, anyway,"

"Disappointing," the reporter sighed, before producing another envelope. "Tyria," Penny addressed the next question to the bluenette, who brightened. "Do you have any interesting new spells in the works? He's also scrawled something about a 'missilery' or 'pile bunkers'?"

Tyria shrugged and smiled. "I have so many new spells from my training with Hephaestus. Besides, I create new spells on an as-needed basis. I don't have much use for missiles, when lasers do the job better, though if that changes I'll consider it. As for a bunker . . what, like turn my body into a building?" She shrugged. "I have limits,"

"Fair enough," Penny nodded. "Now then, Pierce," she continued, still looking at the same letter. "Are there any beasts you want to befriend and tame? Also, since it's a similar topic," she plucked another question, "are you going to tame any plant monsters?"

Pierce considered this, thoughtful. "I would have said a qilin, but we kind of already did that. Apart from Cor . . hmm . . what I'd really like is something with a lot of muscle. Knox and Crystal are my only real melee combat fighters, and they both rely on technique more than brute strength. Of course, Aron's still growing, so it's entirely possible that when he's bigger and stronger, he'll fit that criteria. As for the plant thing, how should I know? If I get the chance, sure," he shrugged. "Although . . There is one species of beast I would really like to tame. I'd love to partner with my own Bakugan," he admitted with a smile, before shaking his head. "Not many of them like leaving Vestroia, though. So it's unlikely,"

Penny shrugged. "Well, you never know. Next question. Pierce and Tyria, what was your first date like?"

The question caught both lovers off-guard, and they eyed each other nervously. "First date?" Tyria squeaked.

"Uh . . we kinda . . haven't," Pierce put forward.

"Aww, what? Why?" the reporter blinked, peering at them through her spectacles.

"Well, there was my father trying to commit genocide," Pierce put forward. "The crazy dark guild who tried to kill us all and steal the Sempiternal Phoenix," Tyria added. "The band of murderers who wanted to stage a coup and take over Alfheim," "The giant fish which was destroying time," "And we spent the last three months training for the Games," Pierce finished.

Penny sighed. "Well, the guy who asked thought that might have been the case. Follow-up question; where would you like to have said first date?"

"Hmm . . a beach would be nice?" Pierce suggested.

Tyria giggled and elbowed her boyfriend. "Is that really all you've got?"

The Tamer shrugged. "I didn't know you were the type for fancy," he teased, and Tyria shook her head. "No, it sounds nice,"

"Moving along, then. Another one for Pierce; what do you keep inside your Requip space besides your flute and a change of clothes?" Penny questioned, and Pierce relaxed, happy that it was an easy one.

"Well, let's take a look," he declared, splaying his fingers and bringing up a settings screen for his Requip magic, showing a picture of the dimly lit space inside. Penny scrutinised the image, and nodded. "I'm seeing some keys -"

"For my house," Pierce nodded.

"Some spare food," the reporter further observed, and Pierce nodded again. "With Grace's appetite, it's a good idea to have snacks on hand,"

"And a notebook," she finished. "It's where I write down things I feel like I need to remember but won't," the Tamer explained.

Penny squinted. "The front page says 'BUY A SWORD'," she observed.

"Oh yeah," Pierce realised with a nod. "Well, no place will be open now . . . I'll take a look after tomorrow's games,"

" _Sure_ you will," Sarph sarcastically lamented.

"Alright. Now," Penny noticed the next question was for Tyria, and put it aside, wanting to focus on the other members of the group. "Grace. Which of the other Dragon Slayers are you closest with?"

"Is that even a question? Erik!" Grace immediately responded.

"Fair enough. Now, open question to the group. What do you do while you're not on a mission?" Penny rattled off the next question.

"Train," Sarph patted his sword.

"Eat sausage sandwiches!" Grace added.

"Prank Fairy Tail," Pierce grinned, and Boomer nodded consent. "I'm also trying to get signed as an artist," he boasted, before his face dropped. "No one's noticed me, though,"

"Don't leave us!" Grace half-seriously complained, and Boomer just chuckled as Tyria added; "I hang out at the guild a lot. What can I say, home is where the heart is,"

Penny nodded. "Boomer, what is your favourite band, or genre of music?"

Boomer chuckled at this question, shaking his head. "I try not to play favourites. Though I definitely have an affinity for metal, but that's mostly because stuff with a good, strong beat is better for my magic,"

"Makes sense," Penny accepted, and produced another question as they rounded a corner. "Grace; do you still have that rainbow monkey? And do you plan on repairing the toy dragon Pierce gave you?"

"The monkey? In the Nexus?" Grace paused for a second, trying to remember. "No, I left that behind when XaXa attacked," she shrugged. "As for the toy dragon, I really would like to. But I dunno if it's possible,"

"Well, it can't hurt to try," Penny assured her, before remembering the question she had put aside a moment ago. "Now, Tyria . . which is more powerful; your Machine Generation or Gear Infinity?"

Tyria mulled this over. "Well, the thing about that is, Machine Generation isn't like my other modes. It's not static in its power level, it's more dynamic. So, really, the only answer I can give is that it _can be_ ," she shrugged.

Penny nodded, searching her jacket for another question. "Hmm . . I think that's all I have for you five!"

"And here we are. Perfect timing," Sarph observed, seeing Yuki's apartment building looking above them.

"I need sleep, come on," Grace declared, skipping inside. Tyria and Boomer followed, and Pierce nodded. "You go ahead, I'll just be a minute,"

"What's up?" the reporter asked as Sarph followed.

"I've got a question for _you_ ," Pierce turned to Penny herself. He remembered what Prince had said, and what he had experienced in the Nexus. Thousands of eyes, all watching him. _'They're watching us, you know. Right now. They always are, and they always will be. But they seem to take special pleasure in watching you all,_ ' And Penny's readers seemed to know a lot of things that they were keeping secret. "Exactly how wide is your readership?"

Penny chuckled, and her half-moon glasses flashed, which was strange, as there was no light source to reflect off. "Sorcerer Weekly isn't the only thing I write for," she enigmatically explained. "Goodnight!" And with that, she vanished into a side alley, skipping away. Pierce watched her go, his brow furrowed. "There's something very strange about that girl," he mused.

"Maybe she's an alien?" Grace half-heartedly joked as they went inside.

Entering the lobby, the Phoenixes were surprised to see Yuki Nagato, their host and Ariel's cousin, sitting in an armchair and reading a book, unbothered by the late hour. She looked up, seeming faintly interested by the Phoenixes. "Good morning,"

-[CoT]-

Wandering down the street, Penny spotted a food truck that was open, despite the late hour, parked at the edge of a large plaza, and surrounded by food-out tables and chairs. Nodding in satisfaction, she skipped up to the counter that hung from the side of the truck and looked up at the sign, which read 'Cafe Nagi'. "Hey, can I get a coffee please?"

"Sure," the purple-haired man in an apron who was running the stand nodded, quickly making a styrofoam cup full of a hot brew. "Here you go,"

"Much obliged," Penny saluted, leaving some change on the counter and taking a seat at a nearby table. "Now, where did I put it?" the reporter mused, fishing in her pockets, before pulling a large pink snail with a telephone set built into its shell out of a pocket that was far too small to hold it. "Here you are," She picked up the telephone with one hand and took a sip of coffee with the other, before speaking clearly into the Transponder Snail. "Calling the _Prince of Hell_ ,"

The phone rang for a few moments, before the connection was established. "Huh?" The snail spoke in what was identifiably Prince's voice. "Who is this?" he asked, sounding groggy and confused.

"Hey, this is Penny Prince, ace reporter for Sorcerer Weekly, calling because I need you to answer a question for my next editorial. Someone out there really wants to know which dimension in the Nexus was your favourite to visit?"

On the other end of the line, Prince chuckled. "I see. So people _are_ watching me after all. That's good to know. Well, to answer the question, there's this one lovely little world that the Unown call the Trigun dimension. It's like a Wild West planet, everyone carries guns around, duels at the drop of a hat and no one blinks an eye if you kill someone. Me and XaXa used to run wild in that place. Ah, good times,"

"Thanks, by-eeee!" Penny trilled.

"No, wait -" But Prince was cut off by the phone being slammed down.

"Next question is for . . Erik," Penny produced another piece of paper and started dialling, before picking up the phone. "Calling _Erik Hystia_ ,"

"What the - who is this?" The Poison Dragon Slayer in question spluttered in surprise on the other end of the line. "And - where did this phone come from?"

"Not important. I'm doing an editorial on Phoenix's Eye and someone desperately wants to know if there are any wizards in Fairy Tail or Phoenix's Eye that impress, or at least interest you?"

"Huh? Umm . . well, obviously I'm interested in my friends in Phoenix's Eye. The only one who really impresses me is Pierce, though. As for Fairy Tail . . well, there's a reason I tried to take Erza out of the fight early a few years back. Other than her, the rest of them are all idiots who win mostly with dumb luck and sheer stubbornness . . not that Phoenix's Eye is much better, mind . . is that all?"

"For now, yep. Thanks!" Penny called and hung up. "Okay, what else do we have . . one for Equivaton . . that can wait. There'll be a better opportunity for that soon, probably . . and if not the phone still works," She double-checked the remaining questions, then shrugged. "Guess I'm done here. Alright Crocus, I'll see you in the morning!"

-[CoT]-

The following morning dawned bright and early, and Phoenix's Eye found the majority of the non-competitors seated in a box overlooking the arena.

"I can't believe you paid for an entire box, Master. I thought we were low on cash," Totomaru questioned, and Feng smiled. "Faraday came through again,"

"Who?" Laurel, who had accompanied the aged Headmaster Atsphuria to the box so that he could watch Tyria compete, questioned.

"The strongest wizard in our guild. She's not around a lot, though," Totomaru briefly explained.

"Good morning, everyone!" The members of the guild turned to see Penny Prince emerge from the door at the back of the box. "You'll all be pleased to know that Phoenix's Eye all made it through the preliminaries," Everyone cheered at this, and Master Feng just looked smug. "I expected as much,"

"Now, I'm doing another editorial on Phoenix's Eye, and your fans are just dying to know some important details!" Penny declared.

"Oh, not this again," Hare groused.

"Is there a problem?" Everyone turned to see the tall, dark, bearded face of Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria looking on, and Penny beamed. "Perfect! Would you mind answering a question for me?" she commanded, pulling out an envelope.

The professor blinked. "Ah, sure,"

"What did you think of Pierce when you first met him and how do you feel about him dating Tyria?"

This was not what the elderly man had expected, but he nodded anyway. "Well, when I first met him, he seemed like a promising young boy. He was obviously the leader of his group, and I could tell that he had the respect of his teammates,"

Hare coughed, and the man grew a wry smile. "Most of them. As for his relationship with Tyria, I think he's the perfect match for her. She does have a tendency to worry and panic, and I can tell that he's been a good influence in keeping her calm," His eyes darkened, and he added; "That said, if he hurts her,"

"Okay, enough said. Next!" Penny declared, fishing out another envelope. "Sarah," she addressed the bartender, seated near the back. "Do you have any idea what happened to the Power Twins, Jashie and Eishaj?"

The bartender shook her head. "Not a clue, sorry," she admitted.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find out," Penny shrugged. "Now, Master Feng. What do you have in mind for the renovations for the guild hall?"

The guild master's eyes brightened. "Well, it will obviously depend on how much money we win in the Games, but I have some things planned - let me get the blueprints," she declared and rushed off.

Penny blinked. "I suppose we'll get back to that," she shrugged, before addressing Hare. "Hare. What were your thoughts when Pierce gave you that grip for your frying pan? And be honest,"

Hare looked sulky. "It was very thoughtful," she admitted after a moment's hesitation.

Penny smiled, before shuffling to a new question. "Okay, next. Totomaru!" she declared, picking out the fire wizard where he was seated at the back. "Are you into Hare or Fleur?"

The man blinked, not expecting such a direct question. He blushed, noticing that both women were looking at him for his answer. ". . . No comment," he finally declared.

"What? You can't do that!" Penny protested. "The fans need to know!"

"Too bad," Totomaru haughtily dismissed her.

Penny grumbled. "Fine. I blame you for this," she snorted at Hare, and pulled out another question before the Speed Wizard could respond.

"Fleur; are you even attracted to Totomaru?"

All eyes swivelled to the mute witch, who blinked and frowned, thoughtful. She tilted her head, clearly deep in thought, before signing something.

"I definitely feel close to him," Totomaru translated, "you," he added Fleur's correction, "but definitely not in a lustful way,"

Fleur paused again, before continuing. "But you make me feel happy in . ."

"A way that no one else I know does," Atsphuria finished as Totomaru was at a loss for words.

"You speak sign language?" Penny brightly exclaimed at Atsphuria, focusing on entirely the wrong thing.

"I . . um . ." Totomaru spluttered, and Fleur, blushing bright red, suddenly flew from the box, vanishing into the door behind them.

"Love is weird," Penny shrugged. "But I think that was the last question, at least the last one any of you can answer, so -"

"I'm back!" Master Feng shouted, returning an armful of rolled-up papers. She picked one from the pile and started to unroll it. "As you can see -"

Suddenly, a fanfare of trumpets rang through the stadium, and everyone looked up. Feng paused, disgruntled.

"Oh good, the Games are starting! That'll have to wait," the reporter waved away Feng's explanation of the guild hall's new features. "Okay, everyone, see you soon! I gotta get back to the design team!"

"The what?!" Hare spluttered, but Penny was already gone.

"Did she just say that she's on the design team for the Games?" Sarah frowned. "That's going to make things interesting,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Don't worry, FairyTailNut, I have not forgotten your question to Equivaton. It will simply be addressed in a later chapter where the answer will be more pertinent.**

 **Actually, that just about goes for everyone. I know I didn't answer every question that was submitted to me, but the ones I skipped over I had good individual reasons for. If you want more information, PM me and I'll explain exactly why I couldn't answer your question.**

 **Peace!**


	31. The First Round

Chapter 101: The First Round

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _"Hey, look, it's Percy and Pharaoh's Lie!" Natsu Dragneel grinned as they arrived._

 _~P's E~_

 _Pierce cast a wary glance at Natsu as he approached Grace, but the hotheaded boy was indifferent as he smiled at her. "So, you're Pony Sigh's baby dragon, right? It's nice to finally meet you!"_

 _~P's E~_

 _Natsu paused and looked at Pierce. "Wait; 'Phoenix's Eye'?"_

 _"Yes, that is the name of our guild," Pierce testily responded._

 _"Huh. That makes a lot more sense than 'Phoney's Pie'," the Dragon Slayer noted, and Pierce glared at him. "Is that really what you thought our guild was called?!" he demanded._

 _-[CoT]-_

Hisui's eyes were brimming with tears as she finished the twelfth and final entry into the journal. "Is all of this true?" she asked Kynigós, a small part of her clinging to the hope that it was counterfeit. The words were one thing, but the _pictures_ attached to them . .

The hunter shrugged. "I wish it were made up too," he admitted.

"I - I just . ." Hisui spluttered, uncomprehending. "You've seen such horrible things,"

"Correction," Kynigós laconically put forward. "I've _killed_ such horrible things,"

"Ryos . . he told me some things, but not a lot of details . ." Hisui's hand shook as she put the book down on her dresser.

"Well, that figures. Guess he wouldn't have wanted to be too clear on how he killed Asuka," Kynigós spat.

"Still," Hisui forced herself to be rational. "He seemed just as interested in stopping the dragons as you are. He told me about the Eclipse Two, for one thing,"

The hunter paused. "The what?"

"Ryos told me that the Eclipse Gate has a secondary function; to act as a magic cannon with power even greater than an Etherion blast," Hisui explained. "He suggested we use it to destroy the dragons when they come,"

"Ah. Right. That reminds me," Kynigós frowned thoughtfully. "I remember how I heard what had happened at the Dragon King Festival; the dragons came from Crocus. The immediate area. They didn't come to Crocus from somewhere, this area is where they started,"

Hisui blinked. "Okay. What's your point?"

"I've looked everywhere. Every nook, every cranny. I spent hours digging through the caves underneath the city, too. Which reminds me, you need to get someone to clean down there. There's tons of acidic residue, and it's pretty hazardous. But, more importantly, _no dragons_ ," Kynigós explained, a grave look on his face. "So if they're all going to attack here in a week . . where are they _now_?"

The princess thought through his words. "So you tried to launch a preemptive strike . . but couldn't find anything?"

"Exactly," the hunter agreed with her assessment. "Why would that be?"

"I don't know," Hisui nodded. Kynigós made a good point. Where could they be . . She paused. "Hold on. This is all still assuming that I believe you aren't just out of your mind and making it all up," she frowned, glaring at the hunter.

"You saw the pictures," the blond picked up his journal off the dresser.

"Indeed, but those could be forged," Hisui admitted.

"Well," Kynigós paused. "I . . do know one thing that would prove I'm telling the truth beyond all doubt,"

The greenette raised an eyebrow.

"Come to the old shack in the south, tonight. At the far end of Borrins Grove. That's where we've holed up. Bring as many soldiers as you want, it's not a trap . . but I'm warning you now, if you hurt her in any way I'll kill you all without a second thought," the hunter growled.

Hisui frowned. " 'Her'?" she repeated - and then it hit her. The baby dragon, Zena. Kynigós' journal had made extensive reference to his 'adopted sister' . . and the final entry had implied that she had travelled back in time with Kynigós. ". . I see,"

"Well, I don't have anything else to say," Whatever rapport Hisui had been building with the battle-scarred hunter had evidently evaporated, and he tucked his journal back into his hunter's pack as he strode back towards her balcony door.

The princess started as Kynigós climbed onto the balcony, rushing after him. "Wait - what are you doing?" she questioned in shock as, like a cat, the man stood on the balls of his feet, perched on the railing.

"Jumping," he evenly declared, and threw himself into the open air. Gasping, the woman rushed to the edge of the balcony, unable to wrest her eyes away as he plummeted - but gasped as a silky, sky blue parachute erupted from the man's pack, cushioning his descent and allowing him to gently glide downwards.

Hisui watched until he disappeared from view. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there'd been something about that rogue . . Finally, she turned away, and picked up a communicator lacrima. "Colonel Arcadios," she clearly spoke into the crystal.

It took a couple of minutes, but finally the sleepy face of her top man appeared. Hisui winced; for a second she'd forgotten how late it was. "Arcadios. I hope you don't have plans tonight, because I require your assistance with matters connected to a certain gate,"

-[CoT]-

At the edge of the arena, waiting in their changing rooms, Team Pierce was eagerly anticipating the beginning of the Grand Magic Games, and watching events proceed through a lacrima screen attached to the wall.

"Mr. Yajima . . he's a former member of the Magic Council," Sarph recalled as the commentators introduced themselves. "Then why is he dressed like a chef?" Grace asked with a frown.

"What's up with that Chapati guy's face? It looks all squashed," Boomer frowned.

"Please don't say that to him. He is a judge, remember. He could have us disqualified," Pierce pointed out.

Outside, Chapati's voice boomed through the arena. "Now the time has come to meet our competitors!" Team Pierce stiffened. If they were seventh, who had placed below them?

"First up, in eighth place, an old-school bunch of losers from Magnolia! They had luck in the prelims, and now they're raring to take back first place by force! It's Fairy Tail!"

Everyone blinked. "We beat Fairy Tail?" Tyria questioned.

"Master's gonna be happy," Pierce observed.

But they were all silenced by the cacophony of boos and jeers that the crowd unleashed on their rivals, mocking and cat-calling. "Yikes," Tyria observed, listening to them.

"I hope we get a better reception than that," Grace observed as the Fairies reacted with predictable shock at the crowd's reaction.

"Who would have thought they'd make it this far after losing every year? Security spotted that the prelims were no small feat for them. Will the Tenroe Team's sensational return help Fairy Tail become Fiore's greatest guild?"

"Nope! That's gonna be us!" Pierce shouted at the screen, in spite of being aware that no one beyond the room could hear him. The rest of the group nodded in approval.

"Next up is the team that came in seventh place in the prelims!" Chapati began, and Team Pierce stiffened. "That's our cue," Pierce declared as Grace leapt into a hole in reality, while the rest of the group used the door and emerged into the atrium.

"Remember, like we practiced," Sarph told the group. "Slow walk, long strides, and -"

"Yeah, we get it. Now shush, they're introducing us," Tyria hissed as Chapati continued. "They're the flaming birds who set the sky on fire, also from Eastern Magnolia! And I hear they used to have a serious rivalry with Fairy Tail to boot! Give it up, for the wizards whose eyes burn with raging fury, Phoenix's Eye!" As Chapati spoke, the five wizards emerged into the arena, looking around and preparing to bask in the crowd's adulation.

But nothing came.

"Who are those guys?" someone asked in a whisper that echoed through the colosseum.

"WHADDYA MEAN, 'WHO ARE THOSE GUYS'?! THIS IS PHOENIX'S EYE, THE BEST DAMN GUILD IN FIORE SO DON'T YOU DARE FORGET ABOUT US!" The Phoenixes turned to see Master Feng screaming her lungs out at the grandstands, with much of the remainder of their guild assembled behind her. Eve and Blanca were sitting on either side of a grouchy-looking Hare, while Russell, Lorus and Wesley had the other bench. Tyria's eyes brightened as she saw Headmaster Atsphuria looming over the group with an approving twinkle in his eye. Behind them, several of their other guildmates, including the Black Eye Pirates, were assembled, and as Master Feng's gesture, they cheered loudly enough to fill the stadium. "PHOENIX'S EYE! PHOENIX'S EYE!"

"Hey look, it's Peter," Natsu observed. "And the rest of, um . ." He listened for a second to the cries of "PHOENIX'S EYE! PHOENIX'S EYE!" "Oh, that's right. 'Keener Rye'! Man, I can't believe you guys are here too,"

"You _cannot_ be serious," Pierce growled.

Suddenly, though, there was a commotion at the back of the Phoenix's Eye stand. "Move aside, coming through," a large, muscled man with a blond beard, wearing a grey tunic and an apron, with tan pants and sandals, and a toolbelt around his waist, pushed his way through the crowd before emerging behind Hare.

Pierce blinked. "Who's that?"

But tears of joy were welling in Tyria's eyes. "He actually came," she whispered in joy.

"That's my girl! Show 'em what we're made of!" Hephaestus bellowed, clasping his hands to his mouth and roaring over the crowd.

"Who exactly is that?" Sarph questioned.

"That's my grandfather," the bluenette beamed.

Grace blinked. "You have a grandfather?" she questioned in disbelief.

Meanwhile, the ruckus of unexpected divine patronage aside, Chapati continued. "And next is a guild filled to the brim with the fairer sex, the dancer of the great blue sea, Mermaid Heel!" Fairy Tail and Phoenix's Eye alike turned to see an all-female group of people emerging from the next doorway. Ten simultaneous tick marks appeared on their foreheads as Mermaid Heel was the first guild to actually be cheered by the crowd.

"In fifth place! The azure knights that glimmer in the darkness! It's Blue Pegasus!" As Chapati introduced the flirtatious guild, the entire arena seemed to darken as five spotlights turned on one by one, revealing Ichiya, the Trimens, and a man in a full-body rabbit fursuit. "Who's the guy in the costume?" Grace blinked. Meanwhile, Pierce elbowed Sarph. "I told you we should have gotten special effects,"

"Next, in fourth place!" The Phoenixes turned as an eruption of colourful smoke obscured one of the main gates. "The goddess of love and strife, the sacred destroyer! Lamia Scale!"

Every Phoenix's jaw fell open as they took in the Lamia Scale team. "What the heck?" Pierce spluttered.

"So that's where they've been all these years," Feng ruminated.

In the lead was a white-haired boy who Pierce recognised from the event with the Oracion Och as Lyon Vastia. He was accompanied by a small woman with pink pigtails whom they didn't recognise. Looming over them both was the immediately-recognisable face of Iron-Rock Jura, the Wizard Saint. Pierce winced at this; he felt bad for whomever had to fight that man.

But on either side of Jura were two familiar faces; a tall, muscled man with short-cropped white hair, wearing long, black robes, and a well-endowed, black-haired woman wearing similar white garments.

"Jashie and Eishaj," Sarph recognised them at once. After all, it was he who had defeated the latter during the Battle of Fairies and Phoenixes all those years ago.

"Oh, crap," Pierce gulped. He remembered how powerful those two were. So, they had joined Lamia Scale . . and evidently risen to the top, or else they wouldn't be part of that guild's representatives for the Grand Magic Games.

"I don't believe it," Boomer declared, rubbing his eyes as though he expected them to vanish like a mirage.

"Keep it down. We can't do anything now, and there'll be plenty of opportunity to talk things out later," Sarph instructed, before donning a rueful smile. "Or fight it out if necessary,"

"Now, to introduce our third place contestants!" Chapati began, before pausing. "Huh? Um . . are we sure this is right?" he asked Mr. Yajima, who shrugged. "Apparently,"

"Well, alright then. Presenting the third place team! -" The man was interrupted as the third-place exit suddenly exploded with a gout of fire, dazzling everyone looking at it. The resulting smoke obscured the members of the team as they entered the arena - until an eight-layered magic circle burst through the smoke like a chimney and exploded, clearing the dust and revealing the group.

Pierce blinked. "No way,"

"Oh, cool!" Grace beamed.

Light glinted off the leader's blue, fang-shaped glasses, as he tipped his spiky blonde hair back and spread his arms wide. "Get ready, Fiore! 'Cause we're going straight to the top!" Masquerade bellowed with a manic grin. Behind him, Artorias and Kenzie stood at his shoulders, Artorias stern and solemn, while Kenzie had a menacing glint in her eyes from beneath her hat. Behind them, Lync's scarf rippled in the wind, and Donna held up the «Phoenix Eye Rod» in triumph.

"Give it up for Phoenix's Eye Team B!" Chapati finished.

He crowd wasn't sure what to make of this. "That random guild got two teams through the preliminaries?" "Is that even allowed?" "Either way, it's pretty impressive,"

"Wait, there are two teams from Pony Pie? How is that fair?" Natsu demanded in disbelief. Meanwhile, Lucy seemed struck by a realisation. "So that's why there were so many teams in the tournament,"

Team Pierce, though, was equally surprised. "What the heck? Hey, Master! Why didn't we know about this?" Pierce yelled up at their guild master.

"Well, I didn't want you to get too excited. You might even have tried to sabotage each other," Master Feng shrugged.

Overhearing this, Kenzie, Masquerade and Hare all looked sheepish. "You can't prove that," the male snorted.

"You know, I think the newly implemented rules may have left our audience a bit perplexed, Mr. Yajima. Care to explain?" Chapati suggested, and Yajima turned to eyeball him. "Sure thing, the committee in charge of the Grand Magic Games permitted each guild to enter two teams, which they thought would make the preliminaries more exciting,"

"Oi!" Everyone looked at Hephaestus in surprise as he pointed a calloused finger at the B Team. "You chumps had better not show up my granddaughter, got it?!" he demanded.

Tyria sweatdropped. "You get that we're on the same side, right?"

"Don't count on that!" Lync retorted.

But before the discourse could continue, Chapati interrupted with a crackle from the mike. "And, presenting the second place team!"

"I wonder who it is?" Sarph mused aloud.

"It's a good question. We can assume that first place is these Sabertooth characters we've heard so much about," Pierce nodded. "But all the other big guilds are represented already,"

Grace paused, hearing Gray, over on the Fairy Tail team, mutter, "So it's possible one of these teams is somehow tied to Zeref," Erza promptly responded; "Assuming Jellal's intuition was right, we'll know soon,"

She blinked in surprise. "What was that about Jellal and Zeref?" the girl questioned.

"Jellal? Wasn't he the guy working with the Oracion Och?" Pierce blinked.

Erza quirked an eyebrow, hearing the question. "We'll fill you in later," she assured the Phoenix's Eye team leader.

"Our first place runner up is," Chapati paused for effect, before reading the letter - and his eyes bulged wide. "Oh, wow! What a surprise! This year's competition just got a whole lot more interesting, folks!"

Everyone span and watched the second place team emerge. "No way," Pierce blinked.

"We should have seen this coming," Boomer sighed.

"It's Fairy Tail Team B!" Chapati declared as Gajeel, Mirajane, Juvia, Laxus and a hooded man Phoenix's Eye didn't recognise emerged. Predictably, various members of Fairy Tail reacted with exclamations of surprise - but they were all drowned out by Master Feng roaring; "YOU BASTARDS! HOW DARE YOU COPY US?! HAVING TWO TEAMS IS OUR GUILD'S SCHTICK, YOU CAN'T JUST COPY OUR IDEA AND CALL IT YOURS!"

"Save it, you old crone! We got second place, that's better than your lot!" Master Makarov shouted back at her.

"You also came last!" Feng hotly retorted.

"Two guilds got two teams through?" Chapati questioned in surprise. "I'm not sure the committee really thought this new rule through. I mean, this is a team-based competition. Won't having two teams from the same guild kind of stack the odds?"

"Hmm," Me. Yajima mused. "You worry too much. To be honest, I don't think it'll be a problem,"

"Well, it's totally unfair if you ask me," Jenny huffed. "Let's say there's an event when each team chooses a member to compete against the others in a Battle Royale. There's nothing to stop the Fairy Tail or Phoenix's Eye members from teaming up with each other,"

"It does give them an advantage. But I guess that's their reward for managing to get two teams through the preliminaries," Chapati reasoned.

Mr. Yajima chuckled. "They certainly have the upper hand. It's impressive work on both their parts,"

Suddenly, Natsu roared; "This is a big load of crap!" Everyone seemed to be taken by surprise at this declaration, but the Dragon Slayer wasn't finished. "Being in the same guild don't mean jack, if I fight against any of you I'm not pulling any punches!"

"You said it!" Lync declared. "You lot are my rivals now, and I'm gonna beat you into the ground!"

Sarph sweatdropped. "He gets that, as a Vestal, he's probably the weakest person here, right?" he whispered to Tyria, who shrugged. "Don't count him out. He's short but he has spunk,"

Ignoring Phoenix's Eye as usual, Natsu finished, "As long as we're in this tournament, you lot are my enemies and I ain't gonna lose to any of you!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Gajeel loomed over him. "I'm looking forward to making you eat dirt, Salamander,"

"You know what, Fairy Tail has the right idea!" Kenzie declared, surprising her team. "Hey, judges! From here on out, this is Team Black Eye Pirates! We may be Phoenix's Eye, but we are _not_ on the same team as that lot!" she boisterously declared, gesturing at Team Pierce.

"Team Black Eye Pirates?" Chapati parroted, before shrugging. "Well, okay then. Can we get the producers to make that change?"

Artorias rolled his eyes, but didn't object, while Masquerade smiled. "I'm not sure, I mean, do we really want our guild to be defined solely by the losers who came seventh?"

"Don't be silly. Everyone knows we're the real strength of Phoenix's Eye, no matter the name," Donna retorted.

"And last, but certainly not least, is the team that came in first place in the preliminaries!" Chapati declared as the crowd cheered. "That's right! You know them, you love them! Now, get on your feet and scream for the most powerful guild in all of Fiore! The one and only Sabertooth!" the commentator shouted as those in the stands exploded with excitement.

Phoenix's Eye watched as Sabertooth emerged, and many members of Fairy Tail seemed angry.

"Who are those guys?" Grace asked.

"They're trouble of the worst kind," Gray assured her as Natsu and Gajeel confronted the blond and black-haired boys leading the team.

"Why? Are they cheaters? Are they connected to Zeref somehow?" Pierce pressed, remembering what had been said before.

"Worse than that," Natsu assured him as he stalked back to his team. "They're jerks!"

Phoenix's Eye sweatdropped at this. "You gotta get your priorities straight," Tyria sighed.

 _Meanwhile, a pair of eyes watching the proceedings from afar, through the sniper scope of a rifle, narrowed as they alit on Rogue. "Ryos," Kynigós hissed in hatred._

"All in all, I'd say we have an impressive group of wizards here!" Chapati declared, before looking at Yajima. "Any comments on our lineup, Mr. Yajima?"

"Mermaid Heel make me pine for my youth," the chef eloquently stated.

"Um, that's not quite what I meant," Ignoring his coworker's questioning grunt, Chapati continued. "We've kept everyone waiting long enough, it's about time we unveil the official schedule for this year's tournament!" At his command, the arena burst open, a massive monolith inscribed with letters appearing in the centre of the arena.

"Each one of the rounds will begin with a contest, where the participants will then be ranked from first to eighth place. The teams will be awarded points depending on how they rank in the contest! Additionally, the teams will be allowed to select which of their members they want to compete. After that, we have battles! These bouts should come as quite a treat to all you loyal fans, since it was your suggestions that created these matchups!"

"Intriguing," Sarph commented.

"So, what, the fans sent letters in asking for certain matchups?" Tyria asked. "Was Penny on the design team, by any chance?"

"I hope not," Boomer shivered.

-[CoT]-

Penny suddenly sneezed.

"Something wrong?" Someone nearby asked, and the reporter shook her head. "No. Must be someone talking about me. Anyway, where were we?" she questioned, looking around at the rest of the design team.

"Planning the event for tomorrow's contest," one of the members stated. "I think it should be a footrace along a series of slow-moving wagons,"

"What? That's stupid and boring. Not to mention contrived to be rigged against the Dragon Slayers. I'm sure we can come up with something more exciting!" Penny retorted.

-[CoT]-

"The battle rules are simple. Each team will square off as shown here. The winning teams will be awarded ten points, while the losing teams get jack squat!" Chapati excitedly declared, before adding, almost as an afterthought; "In the event of a draw, both teams will be awarded five points,"

A smile spread across the announcer's face. "Ready for action? Let's get things started with the first contest of the Grand Magic Games; one that we call 'Sky War'!"

Tyria blinked. "What's Sky War?"

"Sounds like an event where flight gives you the upper hand," Sarph rumbled.

"At this time, we'd like each team to select one member to compete! Once your selections are made, the rules will be explained in their entirety," Chapati declared.

Team Pierce looked at each other. "Well, can't be me. I'm the only one who can't fly," Boomer shrugged.

"I'll take it," Sarph ascertained. "My Aera wings give me the most mobility. More than Raya or your Jetpack can provide," he told Pierce and Tyria.

"Mark III can outfly you," the Electrian grumbled.

"Yeah, but we shouldn't show our full strength during the first round. We need to be strategic, we want people to underestimate us," Pierce pointed out, and his girlfriend shrugged, unconvinced. "Not like Mark III's my full strength anymore," she grumbled. Nonetheless, Sarph stepped forward.

Meanwhile, Team Black Eye Pirates was also arguing.

"I'm telling you, if I throw out Aluze then we can't lose an aerial fight!" Lync protested.

"Aluze is too easy a target," Masquerade shook his head. "I'm the strongest one here, it should be me,"

"Funny. I was about to say the exact same thing," Artorias quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Oi. You two can measure dicks later. We have a contest to win," Kenzie pointed out.

"Why not just flip a coin?" Donna suggested. "Heads, Artorias goes. Tails, Masquerade goes,"

"Fine with me," the masked man retorted, producing a plastic token from a pocket. Noting the raised eyebrows from his team, he shrugged. "What? Some Ability Cards mandate coin tosses. Alright," With a flick of his wrist, he span it into the air. All eyes watched as the coin whirled end over end, before reaching the apex of its arc and starting to sink . . .

Until a gloved hand snatched it out of the air. All eyes went to Lync's mischievous smirk. "I'm taking this one and you can't stop me!" he declared, turning and dashing into the centre of the arena to join the other contestants. The other teams had selected Gray, Beth, Eve, Lyon, Juvia and Rufus.

"Now, to explain the rules!" Suddenly, the ground shook underfoot, and chunks of stone rose up under the eight contestants' feet, lifting them into the air and spreading around the arena. With flashes of light, more floating islands of various sizes appeared around them, until the entire arena was filled with chunks of displaced rock. With a final flash of light, a large safety net appeared beneath the entire course. In anticipation of the coming fight, Lync raised his Gauntlet and switched it on to activate his magic, declaring; "Gauntlet: Power Strike!"

"The rules are simple. It's an eight-way battle royale to knock your competition off the platforms and into the net below. Last one standing is crowned the winner," Chapati grinned.

"Flight certainly will be an advantage here," Sarph declared, satisfied that he was correct, and manifested his Aera wings.

"I get it," Gray smiled. "We gotta knock everyone else off while maintaining our balance and not falling off ourselves,"

"So, if everyone's ready?" Chapati paused, either to give people a chance for legitimate objection or just for dramatic effect, before declaring; "Start!"

A smile split Lync's face. "Bakugan, Brawl!" he commanded, sending the silver/green orb that was Aluze spinning into the air. "Stand, Ventus Aluze!" With a metallic screech, the massive avian machine manifested, its six multifaceted eyes scanning the area around it. Without further ado, Lync took a flying leap onto his partner's back and scrambled onto Aluze's head. "We've got this in the bag!" he declared.

"Oh, my! It appears that Lync has summoned some kind of massive monster! This'll certainly put the odds in his favour," Chapati narrated, as Aluze twisted its head and locked onto Gray.

Lync pulled a card out of his pocket and slotted it into his Gauntlet. "Ability activate! Mega Bind!" With a screech, Aluze blasted a crackling net of green energy at the Fairy.

Gray started. "What the - crap!" he shouted, making to dodge, but the net was too large and caught, wrapping around him and knocking him off the platform.

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia shrieked, dashing across the islands between them and liquefying as she leapt towards him in a futile effort to catch him.

But Gray had his own plan. "Icemake: Pillar!" he commanded, throwing a hand downwards, and a massive pillar of ice erupted from the ground beneath him and caught him before he could hit the net.

"Ooh, a smooth move from Gray saves him from being first out," Chapati observed.

But then a shrieking Juvia slammed straight into him, knocking him off the pillar and sending them both dropping to the ground.

"But in a reckless suicide attack from Juvia, both Fairy Tail teams are out of the running!" the narrator continued. Fairy Tail A and B both shifted to last and second-last place on the scoreboard, with 0 and 1 points respectively. The crowd promptly jeered. "I guess getting second was just a fluke," someone commented above the rest of the noise.

"What the hell, Juvia?" Gray snapped at his guildmate, who bawled and apologised profusely.

"Hah! Two down, five to go!" Lync crowed as Aluze span in mid-air, targeting Lyon. "I guess Ice wizards can't take the heat! Ability Activate! Dora Can-"

"Memory Make: Mega Bind," The Vestal was suddenly blindsided by a green net identical to his own. "What the -" he spluttered, struggling, but suddenly Rufus was standing before him, a cool smile on his lips. "Your Bakugan is quite interesting. I've memorised it," the wizard smirked, before pushing Lync. Struggling, the Vestal couldn't stop himself from falling off Aluze and down to the net below.

"Damnit! I told you this was a bad idea!" Masquerade yelled at Lync as Chapati narrated; "Team Black Eye Pirates takes sixth place. That's gotta sting,"

"I think I understand!" Lyon leapt across the distance, feeling metal under his feet as he invoked Icemake: Tiger. "Surprise attacks are everything!"

Instead of countering, Rufus leapt skyward and allowed Lyon's attack to pass beneath his feet as he landed on a floating chunk of rock. "There's a little more to it than that. For example, did you know that Bakugan tend not to stick around after their master leaves?"

Lyon froze as Aluze suddenly reformed into green energy, which rapidly condensed and collapsed back into a ball - leaving him with nowhere to stand. He bellowed a mixture of a scream and a curse as he plummeted down to the net. Meanwhile, Lync snatched the ball out of the air, and frowned at Rufus. "What's up with his magic? Can he copy other people's magic somehow?"

Meanwhile, across the arena, Sarph, Beth and Eve were facing off against each other. "This was a bad idea," Beth gulped, knowing that her tunnelling magic was useless on a floating island.

A snowball suddenly hit her face, and she span, spitting snow out of her mouth. "Hey!" she shouted at Eve, who smiled. "All's fair in love and war," he snarkily informed her, before producing a magic circle. "Snow Surge!" Buffeted by a surge of snow, Beth slipped and lost her balance, tumbling backwards and collapsing off the island. "Unable to stand up to Eve's assault, Beth nets fourth place for Mermaid Heel!"

Eve looked around, but couldn't see any of his opponents nearby. "Where are you . ." he trailed off, leaping into the air towards a nearby island.

A golden Archive screen manifested before him in mid-air, and Eve slammed into it like a wall. "Not fair," he squeaked, clutching to the edges of the screen in a desperate attempt to prolong his time in the game. But it vanished into ethernano, and, his purchase lost, Eve fell to the net below.

Sarph grinned, pulling himself out of where he had been hiding and looking down. "Don't underestimate Phoenix's Eye," he declared. The knight lifted himself into the air and canvassed the arena, searching for his last opponent. "Where are you?" he growled at Rufus.

"It seems we are down to the last two contestants!" Chapati declared. "No surprise that Sabertooth's Rufus Lore dominates, and his last challenger is Phoenix's Eye's Sarph . . um . . Sarph!" The announcer paused, before whispering: "Can we get someone to check his last name?"

"Rufus Lore," the knight paused, thinking. "Uses Memory Make magic. Is able to duplicate any Spell he has ever seen with his idyllic memory and create new ones on the fly by putting duplications together,"

"I see you've done your homework," Sarph span to see Rufus standing on a small island behind him, looking placid and unconcerned.

"Impressive illusion. What is it you say? That's merely the memory of you being there?" the Phoenix shook his head, remaining on guard.

"Very astute," the illusion spoke.

Sarph smirked, and raised his sword. "My sword is «Tenshi Meiyo», one of the 22 O Wazamono swords. Its unbreakable black blade has endured countless battles without a scratch. This will not be the fight that breaks that streak," he declared.

"Unbreakable?" The voice came from above him, and suddenly Rufus was falling downwards, his own blade in hand. "I'd like to test that theory. Memory Make: Freezing Blade of Corrosion!" A magic circle appeared around his weapon and it crystallised over with Ice magic, and became slick with slushy acid, as it came down to meet «Tenshi Meiyo».

"«Angel Strike»!" Sarph invoked a Sword Skill that caused «Tenshi Meiyo» to become encased with pearl-coloured energy as he blocked the attack. The crowd cheered as they struggled against each other, Sarph's scowl meeting Rufus' tightly-lipped smile.

But then Rufus drew breath. "Memory Make: White Dragon's Roar!" he declared and blasted his opponent at point-blank range downwards. The force sent Sarph smashing straight through two islands, before hitting the net amidst a shower of debris.

Rufus landed on a small hillock and posed as the crowd went wild. "And there you have it, folks! After a climactic conclusion, the winner of Sky Wars is Sabertooth's Rufus Lore!"

Sarph picked himself up, sheathing «Tenshi Meiyo» and shaking his head. "Damnit . . I thought Maker Mages needed to use their hands for attacks," He donned a rueful smile. "That trick won't work twice, though,"

"Alright! Let's clean up the arena so that we can get started on the battles round of today's events! Don't move a muscle, or you might miss the first intense battle that'll leave you seeing stars! It's Lucy Heatfilia of Fairy Tail A, vs. Donna of Team Black Eye Pirates!"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **So, I enjoyed some of the rounds of the Grand Magic Games more than others.**

 **I think this chapter makes it obvious that 'Hidden' and 'Chariot' are among those I** ** _didn't_** **like.**

 **Anyway, time for a new thing! From here on out, I'll use the Author's Notes to keep a running total of every team's score in the Games! So let's get started!**

 **Sabertooth: 10**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 8**

 **Blue Pegasus: 6**

 **Mermaid Heel: 4**

 **Lamia Scale: 3**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 2**

 **Fairy Tail B: 1**

 **Fairy Tail A: 0**

 **Until next week. Peace!**

-[CoT]-

"These matchups are sure to provide a good show, but there's one problem," Arcadios muttered, looking at his contemporary. "If these other three go ahead, that leaves a member of Phoenix's Eye fighting someone from Sabertooth,"

"Yes. That was quite intentional. I want to see what these unknowns are capable of. They look like the type that might surprise us all," Mato replied through his mask. "Tell the organisers to determine which member of their group has the strongest magic power readout, and pick them to compete. We need to build the crowd up for Jura to fight Mystogan, after all,"

"It shall be done," Arcadios confirmed, turning and walking away, while surreptitiously rolling his eyes.


	32. Machine Generation

Chapter 102: Machine Generation

Lucy and Donna entered the now-cleared arena from opposite sides of Domus Flau, eyeing each other warily.

"I don't know who to root for," Pierce admitted to the rest of his team. "They're both my friends, and I don't want to insult either of them by cheering for the other,"

Grace considered this conundrum for a second, before her face lit up with an idea and she shouted; "Go Lucy! Go Donna! You can both do this!"

Both Celestial Wizards took pause at this. "Well, at least she has the right idea," Lucy muttered.

"I'll admit, I didn't expect to be the first person to represent my guild in the battles portion," Donna admitted as she squared off with her opponent.

"Oi! We're Team Black Eye Pirates and don't you forget it!" Kenzie hollered from her own changing rooms.

Above them, Chapati declared; "The match starts in three, two, one, _game on_!"

Immediately, both Fairy and Phoenix produced their respective Celestial Keyrings. "Open, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!" Lucy commanded, and, suddenly, there was an exact duplicate of her standing beside her.

"Open, Gate of the Battlefield!" Donna retorted, producing her blue crystal key with its red tint and sword shape. "Mars!" There was a flash and a bell tolling, and the soldier spirit appeared before her.

Meanwhile, both Lucy and Gemini raised another key. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" Lucy commanded, while Gemini continued, "Open, Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" Doorbells rang in harmony as two more spirits appeared, a tanned man with a large mechanical gun shaped like a scorpion tail, and a massive anthropomorphic bull with a two-headed axe.

Donna gulped as Chapati gasped. "Holy moly, Lucy has summoned three Celestial Spirits in the first minute of the game! Donna's looking a little outmatched there. Can she keep up?"

"You two, attack before she can Summon another Spirit!" Lucy commanded, and Taurus and Scorpio obliged, Taurus charging forwards and bringing his axe to bear in a crippling overhead strike.

"Mars, block!" Donna commanded, and Mars raised the massive, black/silver tower shield he always carried with his left hand to intercept the blow, wielding the massive object like it was made of paper. The two weapons met, Taurus bellowing like a mad bull. Mars, though, tched and remained silent, using his free hand to produce a gladius and stab at Taurus' exposed midriff.

"Sand Buster!" Scorpio interceded, firing a spiralling blast of sand from his mechanical tail. The precisely aimed attack knocked the sword sideways, and earned him an irritated glare.

"Mistress? Mind if I take this chump? Me and Mars go way back, we are!" Scorpio requested, and Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Taurus, hang back. Let Scorpio take the lead,"

"Whatever you say, mooooostress," the cow agreed, back-pedalling and standing protectively over Lucy and Gemini as Scorpio and Mars squared off.

"I see the battlefield drives us together again," Mars observed with a tight-lipped grimace.

"Yeah, and this time I'm gonna whoop your ass good, we are!" Scorpio retorted, his tail twitching menacingly.

"You two have history?" Donna checked. In both her and Mordonna's custodianship of Mars' key, she'd never before fought someone wielding the Gate of the Scorpion. Of course, she had interacted with Angel of the Oracion Och, but never fought her. But she was hardly the first to wield the Gate of the Battlefield.

"Oh, we're old wartime buddies, we are," Scorpio assured the bluenette.

In a flash, Mars leapt forwards, thrusting with his gladius towards Scorpio's exposed chest. "You shouldn't be so familiar with your enemy," he reprimanded the other Spirit, who dodged and swung a punch at him as he passed.

Unfortunately, Mars had anticipated him going right, and lashed out with his left hand, shield bashing the other warrior with his tower shield. The two blows connected simultaneously, and both Spirits were knocked away from each other by the force. Mars, already off balance from his charge, span to avoid falling to the ground and dropped his shield to steady himself. Scorpio used his tail to counterbalance himself and rounded on the vulnerable Spirit, raising his tail. "Sand Buster!" he commanded, charging up a blast of sand from his tail and unloading it at the Spirit, who now only had a sword in his hand and no way to shield himself from the blast.

But, with unerring accuracy, Mars threw the gladius, sending it flying, tip first, straight through the eye of the blast, where it struck the tip of his tail head-on, lodging itself into the nozzle. Scorpio winced as the mechanism lodged. "That trick again, eh?" he growled, reaching up and tugging on the hilt of the blade.

"Hey," Lucy observed. "That Spirit of yours . . he's not using any magic. Only his weapons,"

"Mars doesn't need his magic for this fight," Donna coolly retorted.

Mars unsheathed a spear from the veritable armoury on his back. "Don't let your guard down," he berated the dark-skinned spirit, lashing forwards with the spear.

"You said that last time," Scorpio hissed, spinning and using the metal skin of his tail to deflect the blow.

Only no blow came; instead, Mars seemed to simply vanish into thin air. Scorpio, watching him over his shoulder, blinked. "Where'd he go?"

"Open, Gate of the Battlefield," Donna whispered.

Directly in front of Scorpio, a doorbell rang, and Mars leapt back out of the Celestial Spirit World, having been sent home and then Summoned back again by Donna, and drove his gladius straight into Scorpio's chest.

"Just because you wanted to fight me alone, doesn't mean I feel the same," Mars hissed as Celestial magic spewed out of the wound. "Don't be so presumptuous in our next fight,"

Lucy gasped. "Scorpio! Go home!" she commanded, twisting his key, and Scorpio vanished in a flash of light.

"Incredible! After a rousing clash, Donna's Spirit is victorious! But the fight is still going on!" Chapati declared. "Not surprised," someone in the crowd murmured. "Third place vs eighth? I may not know these Phoenix's Eye people, but they gotta be good to place third,"

"That was intense," the blonde Celestial Wizard murmured, swallowing reflexively. "She has so much magic power to burn that she can dismiss and re-summon her Spirits at will? There's no way I can top that kind of power,"

"That's not true, mistress," Gemini told her. "There is that Spell we were practising together,"

Lucy blinked, nodding. "You're right. That might be our only shot," she agreed. "Taurus, cover us!" she commanded.

"Anything for the two of yoooooooou!" the bull declared, and took up a position in front of the two Lucys.

Donna frowned. "Mars. They seem to be setting up some kind of final move," she observed, and her spirit wordlessly nodded his agreement. "Should we allow it?"

"No. I think it's time for you to use your magic," the bluenette continued. "Lucy, was it?" she called. "How about this; we'll each launch one blow to finish this fight. Whoever's left standing is the winner,"

"I see," Lucy nodded, knowing that she had no choice but to accept Donna's terms. "Taurus, go home," she commanded, and before he could get a word in edgeways, the cow vanished.

A smile played across Donna's lips. "Mars," she commanded, raising his key, which shone with light. "Do you know what sets the Celestial Deities apart from other Celestial Spirits?" she questioned.

Lucy didn't respond, focused on setting up Urano Metrion with Gemini.

"Each Deity is capable of one grand final attack in which they draw upon the accumulated power of the people who believed in them as gods," Donna explained. "This is the power that you are matched against. I hope you can handle it. Mars," she finished, now addressing her Spirit. "It's time. Go, Into the Breach,"

"As you command," Mars nodded.

As Lucy continued her setup, suddenly a dusty, arid wind blew through the entire Colosseum. "Why does my mouth suddenly feel dry?" someone questioned.

"I am known as Mars, the Deity of War," Suddenly, a massive stone pillar erupted from the ground, carved and sculpted as though it were part of a palace . . and then it fell over, crashing to the ground. For a second, it was surrounded with human-shaped shadows. "But I am a man, merely one among many,"

All around Mars and Donna, more ruins and destroyed buildings erupted from the ground, each fully forming and then being sent crashing to the ground by shadowy people. "I am the man who bears the standard," Mars raised his spear high into the air, and a flag made of red magic power materialised, attached to the shaft, flying in the dusty, desert wind. "Who walks at the forefront of the armies of gods and collects the spirits of all who follow him!"

The crowd in the stands, and indeed every wizard competing in the Games, all watched in awe as hundreds, no, thousands of shadowy warriors appeared behind Mars, giving Donna a respectful berth. "What _is_ that?" Pierce asked in amazement from the Phoenix's Eye stands, decidedly glad that he wasn't in Lucy's shoes right now. "This is incredible!" Chapati exclaimed. "It seems that Donna has somehow summoned an entire _army_ of Celestial Spirits all at once!"

"No, those aren't Spirits," Yajima corrected his fellow commentator. "I think they're _ghosts_ ,"

"Creepy," Jenny observed.

"I am the herald of the endless army!" Mars roared as his flag flapped back and forth in the wind and the shadows began to resolve into clearly identifiable human-looking soldiers. Each was clearly distinguishable as an individual. "From now until the end of time, as I lead mine into the breach; I -"

"- **_AM NOT ALONE!_** " The cry sprang forth from the throats of a thousand summoned warriors, Donna adding her voice to the fray, and echoed all throughout the city of Crocus.

The army stood ready, staring down Lucy and Gemini, who had equal expressions of horror. But the real Lucy immediately donned an expression of resolve. "No. I won't give in to this. I'm gonna show everyone that Fairy Tail is a force to be reckoned with!" she declared, before resuming her Spell.

". . oh 88 stars of the heaven; _shine_!" There was a moment of perfect tranquility throughout the stadium as the final word echoed around the stands, before Lucy and Gemini threw their arms outwards and launched; "Urano Metrion!" aiming the dozens of celestial magic spheres at Mars. Behind her Gemini vanished, their energies drained by the powerful attack. Lucy knew that it was Mars who was manifesting the summoned army; if she could defeat him then they'd only have to contend with Donna. And after enabling a spell like Into the Breach, she had to be almost drained of magic. She'd be a pushover.

"Forwards!" Mars commanded and the warriors around him all surged forwards, each raising their shields and presenting an impenetrable meat shield that surged forwards like a single living collective to take the brunt of the blast.

Lucy gasped as the components of her spell exploded, unleashing a massive wave of destruction that scattered soldiers in every direction and punched a massive hole in Mars' army . . but still leaving a sizeable force standing, congregated around Mars himself and Donna. "What? But . . how can they be so suicidal?" she questioned, horrified.

"It's simple," Mars shouldered his way to the front of the crowd, still holding his army's standard high, and looked down at her. "Mine to command are the souls of the most dedicated warriors who have fallen in battle throughout history, those who laid down their lives because they believed in a cause greater than themselves. Each man here died because they believed the collective was more important than the individual, and they are glad to do so again,"

He lowered his spear, the banner still attached to it, and pointed it at Lucy. "Do you yield?"

Slowly, Lucy nodded, closing her eyes in dismay. But she paused, hearing someone in the stands comment; "That was a pretty impressive last stand, though," "Yeah, she wiped out, like, half of that army in one hit," "I guess that even though they came eighth, that still means they beat a hundred other teams. Gotta give them credit for that,"

With a smile, Lucy returned to her group's bay to the welcoming arms of her guildmates.

Meanwhile, Mars and the remaining members of his army, as well as the ruins of war around them, vanished, and Donna staggered back into the Phoenix's Eye - Black Eye Pirates' bay. "That was pretty awesome," Masquerade immediately commended her.

"Yeah! It was epic! Way to score us the lead!" Kenzie cheered in agreement.

Artorias, though, took her arm and helped her to a bench. "Get some rest. We're all done for today," he assured her as Sif appeared on the bench next to her and rested her head in the Celestial Wizard's lap.

Outside, Chapati was narrating. "And with that amazing victory, Donna earns Team Black Eye Pirates a total of 10 points! That puts them in the lead with 12 points. Can the other teams keep up? Well, probably. But now it's time for our second matchup! It's Mermaid Heel's Arana, versus Blue Pegasus' Ren!

-[CoT]-

The battle between Ren and Arana finished with Ren claiming victory, and Chapati read off the next matchup. "And our next fight is gonna be intense for sure! Sparks are gonna fly between Phoenix's Eye A's Tyria, and Sabertooth's Orga!"

-[CoT]-

"Well, this is certain to be an interesting matchup!" Mato declared, looking between Orga Nanageer of Sabertooth and Tyria Zechtian of Phoenix's Eye.

"Unlikely," Orga rumbled.

"Don't count me out!" the Electrian declared.

"Alright!" Chapati shouted as Mato hastily left the arena. "On your marks, get set, fight!"

As he spoke, in the Phoenix's Eye bandstand Boomer selected a track on his boombox. "Glorious" by Macklemore. "Kick some butt, Tyria!" he commanded, letting the music echo at a low volume through the arena.

Immediately, Tyria reached into the air and twisted an imaginary dial. "I am the lock, and my command; the key. The gears of the universe shall defend my heart and soul,"

"What's this?" Orga questioned, interested.

"I now undo the limiter, and pronounce myself the ruler of progress!" Tyria's body was engulfed with black energy, and a massive ebony gear emerged from the ground around her. "Gear Change!" The gear at her feet erupted into the heavens, creating a pillar of black with flashes of blue, and Tyria levitated as her hair wrested itself free of its typical ponytail, spiking upwards into electrical pylons. Steel chest armour formed around her shoulders, and short black blades appeared on her corset. Finally, a laurel wreath made of black metal manifested above her head, before settling amidst her hair like a crown. "Machine Generation!"

"What a sight! Tyria isn't wasting any time, immediately changing into some kind of powered-up form!"

Orga frowned. "That energy . . it can't be," he frowned, an eyebrow quirking.

"That's my girl! Grind him into toothpicks!" Hephaestus roared from the stands.

"I heard you're supposed to be a God Slayer," Tyria offered, eyeing Orga skeptically. "Were you trained by a god?"

"That's absurd. I gained my power from an ancient scroll," the man snorted. "If you think anything else, you are delusional,"

"Don't deign to question me," the demigoddess frowned, before chuckling. "In that case, I suppose that we'll have to see how an imitation compares to the real thing!" Suddenly, she threw herself forwards, throwing out a fist that metallised and transformed into a pair of razor-sharp points that pinpointed his navel. "Machine God's Tongs!"

"What's going on with Tyria's magic?" Sarph questioned, curious.

Pierce, though, just smiled and remembered what Tyria had told him in that bar in Aincrad. "She's finally learned to use her god powers,"

Sarph, Boomer and Grace all blinked in perfect unison. Each spontaneously rounded on him, their eyes going white and cartoonish, as they screamed; _"HER WHAT?!"_

Orga smirked and effortlessly blocked the attack with a palm. He raised his free hand and invoked; "120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" But, even as he cast and Tyria was still in the process of executing an attack, she looked up and yelled; "Machine God's Bellow!"

The two attacks met and caused a ginormous detonation of black energy to wash across the arena, knocking both backwards. "Incredible!" Chapati exclaimed. "It seems Tyria has magic on par with Orga!"

Orga picked himself up, and murmured; "This is a rare treat. I'll make sure to savour your defeat," he nodded as the smoke cleared and he focused on the spot where he estimated Tyria would have landed . . but there was nothing there.

Light flashed off silvery gears in an interlocking network as they rose and fell, bird-like shapes that suspended the other God Slayer in mid-air.

"It's her Mark III wings!" Grace exclaimed, excited.

"Interesting," the man mused.

"Machine God's Hammer!" Tyria shouted, her arm extending into a large metal hammer, and she swooped downwards for a crushing blow.

"Black Lightning Shield!" Orga retaliated, manifesting a barricade of electricity. Tyria winced as the electricity coursed through her metallised flesh, and leapt away, using her wings to keep herself suspended a few feet off the ground. "Damnit," she hissed. As a tech-focused wizard, she was vulnerable to electricity.

"120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" the Sabertooth tried again, firing off a barrage of electricity that raced towards her metal wings, attracted by the conductive material.

Suddenly, Tyria flashed back to her fight with Motormouth, so long ago. He had countered her using a similar attack with equal strength in order to cancel the attacks out. "Machine God's Torch!" she commanded, cupping her hands around her mouth and blowing, causing a black magic circle to appear and creating a burst of blue energy. The two attacks met in mid-air and exploded against one another. Realising that her wings were acting as a lightning rod, Tyria dispersed them and dropped to the ground. "I'll just have to fight on your level," she hissed.

"I highly doubt you can manage that," Orga tched.

In a flash, Tyria pelted towards him. "Machine God's Tectonics!" she commanded, invoking her familiar TechType impact doublers, but with a black coat and extra power attached, and punching straight at the Sabertooth's chest. In response, the man crossed his arms over his chest for a block and caught it with gritted teeth, inching backwards from the sheer force of the blow and tensing his legs to withstand it.

The demigoddess smirked. "Don't use the same trick twice," she hissed, before activating the giant bolt within her fist, causing it to burst outwards with a pneumatic hiss, punching straight through Orga's defence and knocking him backwards. Wasting no time, Tyria continued the combo, taking advantage of her opponent's momentary opening by once again commanding; "Machine God's Tongs!" and striking for his chest with surgical precision.

But Orga leapt up high, dodging the only way he could; going _up_. Tyria stumbled to a halt, looking up at her opponent as he reached the apex of his jump, before commanding, in midair, "Lightning God's Vengeance!" He backflipped in midair and came crashing down towards Tyria.

"Machine God's Second Art: Forty-Eight Peg Gear Blitzkrieg!" A pair of massive black gears appeared on Tyria's forearms and she brought them upwards, spinning into a blur. Unable to stop himself from hitting the attack, Orga decided to retaliate and continued his strike. The attacks met each other with Tyria below, Orga above, and a blur of lightning and machinery between them. Sparks coursed through Tyria's gears and surged into her body, causing her to twitch in pain, but she continued to assault, the teeth of her gears biting into her opponent and carving bloody gashes into her chest.

And then Orga grabbed her gear and used the centrifugal force to throw himself across the stadium, flying backwards and landing on his feet. Bruised and battered, blackened burns visible against her dark skin, Tyria span, dispersing her gears.

"Is that all you've got?" her opponent challenged, looking ready to go another round.

Tyria shuddered. "Nothing I do phases him," she muttered to herself.

"Tyria! Come on, you can do this!" Pierce shouted from the bay, and the girl looked up at the words. She smiled. "But then again,"

"Remember!" Hephaestus shouted from the stands. "You can still use _all_ of your TechType spells as a God Slayer!"

Tyria rolled her eyes. "Tell me something I don't know," she hissed to herself, before pausing. _All_ of her spells? Including . . . _that one?_

"Alright, Gear Change!" she roared, summoning up every last dreg of magic in her body and forcing it to the surface. "Mark Infinity!"

"What's this? Tyria seems to be transforming again!" Chapati narrated.

"She has this much power?" Orga questioned in disbelief.

Her dark skin rippled and phase-shifted, changing into blue steel with matching silver patterns of iron that pulsed with the electricity running through the wiring that had infused her bloodstream. Inside her metal chest, her heart pulsed, sending waves of power throughout her body. The godly armour of her Machine Generation form remained, surviving the energy coursing through her body.

Orga raised his eyebrows. "What is this?" he questioned, confused. "I've never seen a God Slayer whose magic functions like this,"

"Machine God's Infinite Art," Tyria hissed, her voice having a synthetic twinge as she poured every scrap of magic she had into the attack. "Hyper-Accelerated Electric Particle Warhead: Large Hadron!"

There was a massive flash of quantum energy, as Tyria generated and launched a condensed singularity that was all at once fast and slow, and over the span of several seconds in which no one could seem to move, made its leisurely way across the stadium.

From the stands, Arcadios watched in amazement. Mato had requested Orga be matched up with whichever member of the Phoenix's Eye team possessed the most raw magic power. It had been very close between Tyria and Grace, but he had decided the little girl couldn't be capable of too much and went with the older one. But he had never thought that she might be capable of something like this.

Completely drained of energy, once the attack had been fired Tyria collapsed to the ground, her body shifting and reverting to normal as the metal disappeared.

Across the field, there was a massive explosion.

Breathing heavily, Tyria struggled to raise her head as the smoke cleared. She had to have won. Even though this version of Large Hadron wasn't as strong as the time she had drained an entire city's power to use it, it was still such an incredibly powerful attack. Surely Orga couldn't have withstood it.

The God Slayer in question had been blown straight into the wall, leaving a man-shaped crater amidst the glowing, heated rock.

With an almighty lurch, he wrested himself free and got back to his feet with a crash. "Impressive," Orga growled, nodding respectfully.

Tyria blinked, before crashing to the ground in dismay. It couldn't be. How could anyone be that strong?

There was a moment of silence as everyone waited to see if Tyria would get back up. But when it was evident that she couldn't, Chapati declared, "And, after an exciting bout of divine magic, Orga of Sabertooth has claimed victory! As expected, Sabertooth takes back the lead!"

Pierce and Grace, rapidly followed by Sarph and Boomer, rushed onto the field. "Are you alright?" Pierce immediately asked, before realising how stupid a question that was.

Sarph carefully picked Tyria up, and Pierce and Grace helped support her. "I . . I'm sorry, guys," Tyria mumbled through scorched lips.

"Don't say that, that was amazing," Grace assured her.

"Yeah. Just makes me wonder how the rest of us are gonna live up to such a strong first day showing," Pierce joked, before carefully leaning in and kissing her cheek, avoiding the parts that had been burnt by lightning.

A smile tugged at Tyria's lips. "Don't worry. And don't worry about me, either. I know exactly what I'm going to do next time I fight that guy,"

"Save it for tomorrow. For now, you need to rest," Sarph commanded as they returned to the bay and brought Tyria into the changing rooms, laying her down on a bench.

Outside, Chapati continued. "And the final bout of the day is, Fairy Tail B's Mystogan, versus Lamia Scale's Jura!"

-[CoT]-

After the day's events were over, Phoenix's Eye and co. regrouped in the tavern where Team B was staying.

The subject of much discussion was the surprise guest that was Tyria's previously-unknown grandparent.

"So, I don't think I got your name," Sarah addressed the elderly Electrian-looking deity, and his frizzy blonde beard quivered as he turned to focus on the muscled knight. Even shrunk down to human size, the god of the forge was so bulky that he outclassed everyone in terms of visible muscles, with Sarph the only other contender.

"Hephaestus. A pleasure, Sarph," he retorted, before taking a long draught from a mug of ale.

"Wait. Hephaestus?" Pierce blinked, before inching over to Tyria. "Is he . ."

Tyria grinned. "Yep,"

"Oi! Can you lot hold your liquor?" Hephaestus boisterously challenged the adult male population of Phoenix's Eye.

"You bet," Russell assured him, and Wesley agreed. "Bottoms up!"

"Do you think they realise that they just agreed to a drinking competition with a god?" Pierce questioned in disbelief.

"Only if they aren't already drunk themselves," Tyria shrugged. "Give 'em hell, grandpa!" she challenged, and the long-haired man grinned back at her from the bar. "Only as much as you gave that fake demigod in the arena!"

"Don't worry," Tyria's voice was tinged with steel, and a blue TechType inferface that she was using to create a new spell appeared before her. "I already have a plan to win next time,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Whew, two absolutely awesome fights!**

 **To be honest, I wanted Orga vs. Tyria to be the main event of this chapter, but I think the reveal of Mars' ultimate power, Into the Breach, might have overshadowed them a bit. For anyone who's seen Fate/Zero, Into the Breach was actually inspired by Rider/Alexander's Ionian Hetaeroi. With a dash of Ruler/Jeanne d'Arc's Luminosité Eternelle for good measure.**

 **Still, Tyria certainly held her own. I'm very happy to see the return of Large Hadron, her ultimate spell that hasn't been seen in more than sixty chapters! Which leads me to my next point; the running totals of the score!**

 **Sabertooth: 20**

 **Blue Pegasus: 14/16**

 **Lamia Scale: 13**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 12**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 8**

 **Mermaid Heel: 6/4**

 **Fairy Tail B: 1**

 **Fairy Tail A: 0**

 **Anyway, still one more scene for this chapter, and then I have an important announcement to make, so I'll quit blabbing and get to that. Peace!**

-[CoT]-

That night, Princess Hisui strolled down a path along the outskirts of the city. Arcadios strolled at her heels. No soldiers accompanied them; Hisui was confident that if her life was in danger, Arcadios would be enough to protect her. And if they really were about to meet a living, breathing dragon, Arcadios was the only man whom Hisui trusted not to let the secret get out.

Eventually they drew up before the shack that Kynigós had given her directions to. There was a dim light in the windows, but no noise. After exchanging a wary glance with Arcadios, Hisui knocked.

After a moment, there were footsteps and the door swung open. Kynigós hostile gaze met hers, before locking onto Arcadios' eyes for a second. For a moment, the two warriors glared at each other, each warning the other that if they did anything to hurt their companion, they would suffer the consequences.

Then Kynigós' gaze softened, and he stepped backwards. "Come in," he suggested, gesturing to the interior of the shack.

Hisui stepped in and looked around. "This place is a dump," she offered, looking at the stained walls, uneven wooden floor, and the roaring fire barely contained by a cracked, sooty fireplace, which faced a large, moth-eaten couch that had its back turned to her. She paused, noticing that there was something sticking up above the couch that she had at first taken for a trick of the light, and squinted. It looked like ivory . . _oh_.

Kynigós followed her gaze and immediately saw what she was looking at. He sighed, pinching his nose and shaking his head. "Zena. I told you to stay out of sight,"

"I am," came a squeaky reply from the couch.

Raising dry eyebrows, Kynigós moved to the other side of the couch, seeing that Zena had her foreclaws pressed over her eyes. "Can't see me," she squeaked.

Kynigós purses his lips, looking displeased, but in reality was trying to swallow a wry smile. "Zena. Just because you can't see me doesn't mean I can't see you,"

The dragonet paused and peeked out between her digits. "Really?"

Kynigós' response caught in his throat as Hisui walked around the other end of the couch and gasped, taking in the dragonet. Zena was covered head to toe in pearly white scales, and a long row of spines like dagger blades that ran down her back, ending in a vertical fan of four splayed ridges. Her wings consisted of more of these blades, with a silver membrane spread between them. The same ebony coloration was present in the thickened scales of her underbelly, running right down the underside of her tail, and the stubby claws attached to her digits were the same colour. Her head was crowned by three pearly horns; one attached to the bridge of her snout and protruding upwards at right angles with a slight backwards bent, the other two twisted around the tiny slits in her scales that were her ears, before curving outwards and upwards behind her.

Zena turned her head so that her right eye was fixated on the newcomer, while keeping Kynigós in her left eye's line of vision. "Whosdis?" she squeaked in surprise, grey/jade orbs dividing their focus effortlessly.

Hisui pressed a palm to her mouth, trying to politely stifle a gasp. Arcadios joined her, but drew back in shock upon taking in Zena. "Amazing," he admitted.

Kynigós blinked. "Wait. Arcadios?" he frowned, squinting at the Knight. He was younger, to be sure, but . . yeah. This was the same man who he had met in Ghoulia.

"How do you know my name?" the man in question frowned.

"I met you. In the future," Kynigós explained.

Arcadios quirked an eyebrow. "Say no more. It's never wise to know one's own future,"

As they spoke, Hisui hesitantly reached out a hand to touch Zena's back. Her fingertips brushed against pearly scales, and Zena twitched. Stifling a yelp, she hastily withdrew her hand as the young dragon inquisitively focused on her with a curious expression. That, the greenette reflected, was certainly not an illusion.

"Good. Besides, don't worry. It's a future that I came here to change anyway. So if we're lucky, it's all a moot point," the hunter pointed out.

Hisui looked around at the hovel. "I won't stand for this," she declared. "The two of you are our allies in preventing a global cataclysm -"

"So you believe me now?" Kynigós folded his arms, looking unimpressed.

"Yes," she agreed. "The simple fact that there is a living, breathing dragon before me means that either your entire story is the truth, or there's some kind of massive hitherto-unknown conspiracy going on in my kingdom involving the cloning of deceased dragons. Either way, the ramifications are massive, and I can't afford to ignore you," she admitted.

"Glad to hear it," Kynigós took a seat on the couch, and rubbed Zena's horns, coaxing the dragon's head.

"What I was saying is, I won't allow you two to keep squatting in this hovel," Hisui declared, hesitantly perching on the other end of the couch. "You both need proper accomodation, and also privacy. Anyone could peer into these windows and see, um, Zena,"

"And think they were imagining things," Kynigós evenly retorted with that same terse half-smile.

"What I'm saying is, I want you both to come back with me to the castle Mercurius," Hisui blurted out, sick of talking around the issue.

Kynigós paused. Zena eyed her with suspicion. The hunter cocked an eyebrow. "No,"

"Whyever not?" Hisui questioned.

"Because I can't guarantee Zena's safety in a castle full of armed strangers," Kynigós retorted.

"I can," Hisui replied. "You're asking me to trust you with no less than the fate of my entire country. Is it so unfair that I ask some trust of you in return?" she challenged.

Kynigós mulled it over. "To be honest, I care more about Zena than your country," he unreproachfully admitted.

Hisui's glare could have turned milk to butter.

"But, I take your point," Kynigós accepted, thinking it over. Pro; central, fortified, protected location. Con; difficult to escape from. Pro; the Eclipse Gate would be right under his nose. Con; distrustworthy soldiers. Pro; gesture of trust to the princess. Con; he didn't like enclosed spaces. Pro; good food and warm beds. Pro; maybe he'd get to see what these Grand Magic Games were all about. Pro, if Ryos tried to contact the princess again he'd be lying in wait. Con . . .

"What do you think, Zena? Should we go with the princess?" he finally asked.

His response was a green laser of energy which obliterated a large beetle that had crawled out of the couch. "Does daprimcess have bedbugs?" the child asked.

"I assure you I do not," Hisui primly retorted.

"I'm in," Zena immediately declared.

"Alright, you heard her," Kynigós shrugged. "Take us to your pumpkin carriage,"

He didn't expect his sarcastic quip to earn a chuckle from the greenette.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **And now, the important bit; due to IRL pressures on my time, I have to consider the very real possibility of putting Phoenix's Eye on hiatus. I don't like it, but needs must.**

 **That said, I've seen other publishers of content online post fan-submitted work to their archives, so all you out there who like this story (and I certainly would be surprised if you're up to chapter 102 and don't like this story), you can consider this an open casting call to anyone who wants to create their own little additions to the world of Phoenix's Eye! Think of it as an exercise in meta-fanfiction.**

 **I still have enough chapters in the pipeline to keep the story's weekly updates going for at least another two months, and ideally I'll be able to finish the GMG and subsequent dragon invasion before I reach the point of needing a hiatus. Don't think of it as a deadline, though! More of a suggestion for when I might start needing fan content. If you're interested, PM me!**


	33. Double Danger

Chapter 103: Double Danger

"Welcome, one and all, to the second day of the X792 Grand Magic Games!" Chapati shouted, and the crowd roared in excitement. From the midst of the stands, Deadeye Pierce Kynigós, a pair of sunglasses and a bandanna covering his face and identity, observed. He was surprised to see that not one, but two of the bays bore the Phoenix's Eye guild mark. He chuckled and looked at his own guild mark, painted onto the back of his metal arm's hand. "Looks like this world's version of my guild is good,"

"As you can see, the scores are pretty widespread," On cue, a massive projection of the scoreboard appeared, and Chapati grinned. "It ranges all the way from Sabertooth, in first place with twenty points, right down to Fairy Tail A, with no points at all! But that could all change today, so don't leave those seats!"

"Unfortunately," Chapati and Yajima both looked at the empty guest seat to their right. "Today's special guest seems to be running late. There's nothing we can do but wait for her to show up. Also, Mato is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons, so in the meantime it's just me and Mr. Yajima today,"

"You should all be very thankful," the chef in question muttered. "The old bat's just gonna drag things down when she arrives,"

"Get on with it!" Kenzie hollered from the Black Eye Pirates bay.

"Fair enough," Chapati conceded. "Today's event is a real shocker, a tidy little number that we like to call Dungeon Duos!"

"Duos? So does each team have to send two members in to this one?" Sarph inferred. In the next bay along, Erza Scarlet had reached the same conclusion. However, she was interrupted by her communication lacrima ringing. She snatched it from her pocket, turned it on, and held it up. "Erza?" Jellal's voice echoed through the lacrima.

"Is there a problem?" the redhead questioned, as her team pored around her.

"I'm detecting the presence of Zeref's magic power in the stadium. It's in the stands, near the Phoenix's Eye A area. I'm on my way, but you're closer," Jellal reported from Fairy Tail B's bay, which was on the far side of the arena from Kynigós' position.

"As many of you have already guessed," Chapati continued; "each team must now send one member into each of the two rings," As he spoke, two circles appeared in the arena; one red and one blue.

"Alright! Lemme at them!" Natsu declared, charging out of Fairy Tail A's bay before anyone could stop him and reaching the closer red circle. Erza sighed. "Normally, I'd be happy to keep an eye on Natsu, but I think I ought to investigate this. Lucy?" she requested. The Celestial Wizard in question nodded and followed her guildmate, taking a position in the blue.

"If Natsu's going in, so am I," Sting from Sabertooth declared, leaving his own team's bay and crossing to the red circle, while Yukino looked at her teammates. "May I join him?" At a nod from Rufus, she skipped over to the blue circle.

"Hey, guys? We don't know what the matches are gonna be like in the next few days, so this might be my only chance. Mind if I take this one?" Pierce addressed his team, raising his eyebrows.

"Sure . . but your only chance to do what?" Sarph questioned, Tyria cocking her head in confusion.

Pierce's eye twitched. "I am going to make that bonehead Fairy remember my name if I have to beat it into his skull!" he declared, Requipping his flute and joining Natsu on the red circle. "I think I'll back him up," Boomer declared, making his way over to he blue circle.

Meanwhile, in the Black Eye Pirates bay, Masquerade was grinning like a loon. "I got this one, guys," he declared.

"Then I'll come with you," Lync ascertained.

"Oh, like hell," Kenzie gripped his shoulder. "You already had your turn,"

"You're all forgetting that this challenge will have something to do with a dungeon. Speaking as the one with the most experience with dungeons, I should go," Artorias interrupted them both, stepping outwards and dashing towards the red circle before either could respond, as Masquerade had already taken a position in the blue one.

Meanwhile Gajeel, Ren, Risley, and Yuka had joined the red platform from the other groups, whereas Mirajane, Ichiya, Arana and Jura had all entered the blue platform.

"Alright! Now that the teams are assembled, let's begin!" Chapati declared.

Suddenly the blue platform was elevated by a massive pillar of stone until it stood fifty feet above the arena. As it did, a labyrinthine maze of stone walls erupted from the ground, spanning the entire arena. The non-participating members of each team's view was quickly blocked, and they all hastily turned their attention to the lacrima screens attached to the walls.

"Welcome to Dungeon Duos! This is a bit complicated, so pay attention! The wizards on the red platform have to explore the dungeon, following a route picked out for them by their partners on the blue platform. People on the blue platform will be responsible for helping their teammates navigate through the maze. The goal point is at the far end of the arena, and the order in which the red people arrive there determines how many points there are. But beware! Blue people from other teams can also hinder the red players by triggering traps or running interference!" Chapati explained.

"So it's a question of strategy rather than power," Masquerade observed, sighing. "I'm not going to be much use here. Better tag out,"

"What does that mean? It's against the rules to switch contestants mid-game," Jura frowned at the blond, who chuckled. "That isn't what I meant," he smirked, before his body shone with black light, forcing everyone to avert their eyes. When the flash cleared, Alice was leaning on the control interface for support. "Whew," she sighed, massaging her temples. "I feel sore,"

"Well, this seems easy," Pierce grinned, Requipping his flute and quickly playing the tune to summon Victoria. The giant queen bee appeared, and Pierce leapt onto her back. "Take me up. We'll fly over the maze walls and skip all the traps," he commanded, and Victoria nodded, spreading her wings and lifting off.

"Like hell!" Natsu suddenly leapt up and grabbed Victoria's thorax, causing her to squeal and fall back to the ground. "I ain't letting you win so easy!" the Fire Dragon Slayer burst out, heaving with all his might to hold Victoria down.

"Pierce, let go and run!" Boomer commanded from the elevated platform.

"Oh, no way. You asked for this! Take Over: Werewolf Soul!" Pierce declared, bursting out in silvery fur and sharp points, spinning on Victoria's back and throwing himself at Natsu, bowling the Dragon Slayer over. "My name is Pierce Blastreyne!" the temporary werewolf roared, before punching him in the face.

Meanwhile, the rest of the dungeon runners had all picked one of the paths that were not being obstructed by the brawling duo, and started making their way to the finish line. Alice scanned the map and clearly spoke into the lacrima. "Artorias, make a left turn and watch out for a spike trap,"

Artorias wordlessly nodded, jumping right, clinging to the wall, them throwing himself upwards, wall jumping to the left. The spike trap triggered beneath him as he harmlessly somersaulted over it, landing in a roll on the other side. "An impressive move from Artorias puts him in the lead!" Chapati exclaimed.

"Show-off," his partner snorted.

From the grandstands, a lone voice cheered. "Whoo! Yeah! Go, weirdo Artorias!" Kynigós hollered. But the Hunter paused, hearing footsteps approaching him. He turned, making sure the hood that covered his face wouldn't become dislodged, to see who it was.

The hunter froze as the face of the person he hated the most - the one whom he had killed some time ago - approached him. As Erza Scarlet walked towards him, Erza Knightwalker's memory swam in his mind, and his metal fist clenched involuntarily.

Kynigós, not trusting himself not to lash out, turned and moved away from her. 'This person is innocent,' he told himself. 'She is not the same person who killed your friends,'

However, seeing that her quarry - as the only man in a suspicious cloak in the area, Erza assumed that this was the source of Zeref's magic - was attempting to escape, Erza quickened her pursuit.

Meanwhile, Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale were having trouble. "Sir! Can you give me some help here?" Ren questioned. He, Gajeel and Yuka had all picked the same path, and were confronted with several blades, swinging back and forth, suspended by metal framework in the air.

Ichiya stared, mystified, at the console before him. "This . . . is not what I anticipated," he admitted.

Jura inquisitively tapped at a button. "Maybe this will help?" he raised an eyebrow.

Each of the swinging blades suddenly split in half, doubling the danger.

". . . Nevermind,"

"Jura, if you can't help me, try hindering the others," Yuka suggested.

"Oh, to hell with this!" Gajeel suddenly roared, coating himself in iron scales, before charging forwards. Metal met metal with a series of resounding _clangs_ , and Gajeel powered through the obstacle, leaving a trail of splintered and broken blades in his wake.

Ren and Yuka stared for a moment, before shrugging and following in his wake.

In the fourth and final possible route, Sting frantically paced through the maze, Risley hot on his heels. "Stop following me!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"No way!" the chubby Mermaid retorted, thinking; 'Sting's obviously the strongest person here. So if I follow him, he'll get through all the obstacles for me. Then I just have to use my Gravity Change Magic at the finish line to slow him down and secure first place!'

Yukino paused, watching this. "Chapati said we could interfere," she recalled, before eyeing her interface. "But he never said we had to use that. Open, Gate of the Swan! Deneb!" The black-haired, black-winged Celestial Spirit appeared in mid-air. "Hello, mistress," he frowned.

"Go distract that mage from Mermaid Heel!" Yukino commanded, and Deneb sighed. "If you insist,"

"Oh," Yukino paused, remembering one of her spirit's peculiarities. "And don't do your best!"

"As you command!" the dark angel suddenly roared, crashing into the ground before Risley with a burst of lightning thar knocked her backwards.

"And an exciting move from Yukino gives Sting the advantage! I'll remind our blue players that while they are not allowed to leave the platform, loopholes like Celestial Spirits are completely legal," Chapati declared.

"Alright! Nice move, Yukino!" Sting cheered, rounding the corner and coming to - a dead end. "Aw, what?"

As he did, Risley, deciding that fighting would be a waste of time, instead declared; "Gravity Change!" and leapt onto the wall. Deneb screamed in confusion as he suddenly crashed into the wall, struggling with his new orientation, as Risley ran around him, passed Sting at right angles and jumped over the dead end.

". . Damnit!" Sting cursed, doubling back and making for the last intersection.

Out in the crowd, Kynigós passed an exit and ducked behind the wall, before peering over the crowd to see if Erza was still following him. She was, metal boots clomping against the ground, making straight for his position.

"Shit," he growled, clambering up the seats, making for the top of the arena.

"Pierce! Cut it out and get moving!" Boomer commanded from the elevated blue platform, glaring at the two fighting wizards, still at the starting line.

"What gives?" Natsu questioned, before punching Pierce, knocking him backwards. "If you wanted to fight, you just had to ask! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" he declared, launching a flaming blow that Pierce weaved around, taking advantage of his leaner physique to dance away, before tackling him from the side and knocking him to the ground.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted. "Stop messing around and earn us some points!"

"You are going to remember my name if it kills you!" the Tamer roared, preventing him from getting back up with a maelstrom of blows.

"What are you talking about?" Indeed, Natsu seemed more confused than anything. "I remember your name just fine, Perry,"

Pierce's eye twitched. "MY NAME," he roared, feeling magic burst forth within him, "IS _PIERCE_!" he declared, throwing his arms into a two-handed punch - and launching a blast of water that threw Natsu right across the red mat.

Natsu blinked, dazed by the impact. "No kidding? I was wrong all this time?" he murmured, shaking his head.

Pierce, for his part, looked at his hands in confusion. "Was that Crystal's hydrokinesis? But I'm using Knox,"

"Well, I'll make sure to remember it this time, then. Sure not gonna forget a hit like that," Natsu nodded to himself as he picked himself up.

"Pierce, you should really get in the race," Boomer worried.

"Don't worry. Artorias has that covered," Pierce assured the mixmaster.

Natsu shook himself off. "Well, I'm good to keep going," he challenged with a feral grin. "How about you, Pierce?"

The blond in question blinked. "Actually, I'm satisfied as long as you remember my name," he smirked. "So with that in mind . . see you at the finish line!" he declared, spinning on his heels and charging into the nearest passageway.

Natsu blinked. "Huh? Hey, what gives? I thought we had a thing going!" he shouted, making to go after Pierce - but then Sting emerged from another passage, looking around and groaning. "Ugh, back here," The Sabretooth spotted Natsu and snorted. "You haven't even left the starting line yet. For shame," he snickered.

"What? I have so! I've just been busy fighting!" the Fire Dragon Slayer protested. "That guy was just here! He ran off!"

"Oh yeah? Well, what's this mystery opponent's name?" Sting cocked an eyebrow.

"It was - um - uh . ." Natsu frowned. "There was an 's' in it . . and he was blond . . with a jacket,"

The blond Dragon Slayer, wearing a sleeveless fur-lined jacket, whose name began with 'S', balled his fists. "Are you trying to make something of this?" he demanded.

"Well, why not? Alright, let's go! Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu, not liking the smug expression plastered over his rival's face, let loose a funnel of flaming magic.

Up on the blue platform, Lucy just groaned in disbelief.

Meanwhile, not far from the finish line, Artorias was continuing to blitz through the obstacles. Chapati eagerly fixated on him. "While Natsu and Sting square off at the starting line, Artorias is way ahead of the competition!" he narrated. "But he's about to hit a road block!"

Indeed, the Blood Wizard, warned just in time by the commentator, stopped dead as he came to a seemingly bottomless pit trap. He frowned, annoyed.

"Comin' through!" The redhead raised an eyebrow as Risly, looking noticeably slimmer and taller than before, powered past him, before jumping onto the wall and running around the pit trap at ninety degrees.

"And with deft use of her Gravity magic, Risley has snatched the lead from Artorias! Is this the beginning of a turnaround for Mermaid Heel?"

Artorias drew «Sleepless Dream» and tched. "Unlikely," he murmured, before coaxing the blood around his weapon into the shame of a liquid grappling hook. With a whirl, he sent it flying towards the wall, where it was dragged in by Risley's own magic, and quickly stuck tight.

"Here goes," With a flying leap, the S-Class threw himself into the gulf, clinging to his bloody pole and swinging straight across the pit.

"It looks like Artorias isn't out of this yet, though! It's a race for first place!" Chapati declared as the Phoenix landed, inches ahead of Risley. The two wizards exchanged determined glances for a second, before the Mermaid grinned. "Sorry about this!" she declared, before spinning, transforming back to her heavier, chubby form, and shoving Artorias backwards.

But the Blood Wizard didn't move an inch. His gaze got noticeably colder. "You should be," he frowned, before grabbing Risley by her shoulder scraps and casually tossing him over his shoulder. She fell, screaming, into the pit.

Knowing that with her magic, it would be a minor impediment at best, Artorias ripped the bloody anchors he had used to hold himself in place out of the ground, setting off again with a trail of splintered dirt in his wake. "Amateurs," he hissed.

"And in a shocking re-reversal, Artorias dispatches Risley and makes for first place!" Chapati narrated in excitement.

However, up on the blue platform, Jura noticed this and frowned. "Forgive me for this, but Ren will claim victory," he declared, and raised a hand. "Iron-Rock Wall!" Suddenly, a thick barrier of stone erupted from the ground before Artorias.

"And Jura puts the brakes on Black Eye Pirates' victory! It's still anyone's game!"

"You need to backtrack," Alice quickly analysed the situation. "There is another route two hundred metres back and -"

"No. This will do fine," Artorias softly cut over her, raising «Sleepless Dream». "Bleeding Drill," A whirlpool of blood started to cut into the obstruction.

". . . Or you could do that," the orangette sighed.

At the very top of the grandstands, Kynigós was skirting the back of the crowd, trying to gain a lead on the pursuing knight. "What does she want with me?" he questioned to himself, resisting the impulse to draw his rifle. It was concealed, along with the rest of his hunter's pack, beneath his cloak, and drawing it would call undue attention to himself.

"Stop! I just want to talk!" Erza called after him.

"Not to you!" Kynigós hollered over his shoulder, breaking into a run. Erza immediately gave chase.

And suddenly a cloaked man was in front of him, glaring from behind the mask. "How about to me?" Jellal, disguised as Mystogan, raised an irritated eyebrow.

Across the arena, Gajeel was still being dogged by Ren and Yuka. "Quit following me, you annoying little -"

"Gajeel!" Mirajane interrupted. "If you can jump over the wall, there's a clear path to your right,"

"Gihihi," the Iron Dragon chuckled, tending his legs. "On it," He threw himself into the air with all his might - and a sudden gust of wind knocked him back to the ground.

"No hard feelings, but I can't have that," Ren shrugged.

"You little -" Gajeel growled, before suddenly morphing his arm into a steel pipe and knocking Ren into a wall. He eyed Yuka, grinning, and made for another swing - but Yuka threw up a blue barrier and declared; "Wave!" instantly neutralising Gajeel's attack.

"So, you wanna go Mano a Mano without magic, eh?" the muscle-bound Fairy questioned, the light glinting off his metal piercings with a menace.

The Lamia gulped, suddenly realising that this may have been a bad idea.

However, while Gajeel was occupied showing Yuka all the different places that an iron bar could be inserted into the human body, Ren picked himself up and crept past, taking advantage of their distraction to get ahead.

While Artorias was inching closer to victory, and Ren and Risley were sprinting to catch up, Pierce had taken wing. Switching out Werewolf Soul for Phoenix Soul, he was soaring above the arena, swooping towards the finish line.

"You know, I'm not certain that the game designers really thought about wizards who can fly when they designed this event," Chapati admitted. "But whatever the case, Pierce of Phoenix's Eye is catching up fast. The other teams better move it!"

"What?" Sting exclaimed, pausing in his fight against Natsu. "Oh, forget this!" he roared, charging down the closest path.

"Hey! You get back here!" Natsu protested, chasing after him.

"And Natsu finally gets moving! First place is still up for - wait, no! Artorias has pushed through! Literally!" Indeed, the bloody drill had finally broken through Jura's wall, and Artorias sprinted down the last stretch towards the golden mat of victory. He could see it just a few feet away.

"And he's done it! Artorias of Team Black Eye Pirates had claimed first place! That's another ten points to the Pirates, putting them in first place with 22 points!" Chapati exclaimed. "Oh, but someone's close on his heels!"

Indeed, Ren and Risley both were fast approaching the finish line. "Second and third are gonna go to," Chapati beamed, eyes on them both.

"Not so fast!" Ren shouted, throwing up a tailwind that buffeted Risley, slowing her down. "Second place is -"

"Solar Blast!" Pierce swooped down from above, and launched a flaming orb of energy a few feet in front of Ren. The explosion knocked him off his feet, buying Pierce enough time to dive in for a crash landing at Artorias' feet.

"In a come-from-behind victory, Pierce of Phoenix's Eye nabs second place! That's sixteen points for this plucky team!" Chapati declared, as Risley slid onto the mat. "Yes! Chubby power!" the Mermaid cheered as a smoking Ren staggered onto the mat.

"Mermaid Heel's Risley and Blue Pegasus' Ren take third and fourth! That ties Blue Pegasus with Sabertooth at 20 points, but doesn't help Mermaid Heel much with just 10," Chapati shrugged. "Let's hope they can tie things up this afternoon. But in the meantime, here come fifth and sixth place!"

Gajeel, Yuka trailing behind him, paused, seeing what lay between him and the finish line. A series of fast-moving rotating platforms. "No problem," the Iron Dragon Skayer grinned, jumping into the first platform - and, at once, his legs turned to jelly, his stomach formed a union, and he collapsed to the swivelling ground. "What gives?" Gajeel moaned. "Motion sickness? Are you actually shitting me?"

Yuka smirked, cautiously stepping over Gajeel, and charged ahead, keeping his balance and eventually reaching the home stretch. "And Lamia Scale takes fifth place! That just leaves Fairy Tail A and B in a race with Sabertooth for last place!"

"Come on, boys, we don't have all day," Yajima huffed.

"You bet we don't!" Sting raged as he rounded a corner - and saw Gajeel's heaving mess. "Oh, -" A high tone burst from the lacrima speakers. "Forgive that brief interruption, folks, but there are some words that we cannot allow to be broadcasted all over the country," Chapati apologetically narrated.

Natsu raced around the corner, took one look at Sting's frozen body, Gajeel's struggles over the platforms, and didn't even hesitate. "This is for Fairy Tail!" he roared, charging onto the platforms, immediately losing his balance and collapsing right next to Gajeel.

"Um . ." Lucy pored over her control board. "Maybe I can stop them?" She pressed a button, and for an instant the platforms froze.

"Aw, yes! Nice going, Luce!" Natsu grinned, sitting up and preparing to sprint to the finish line - but then the platforms started right back up.

"I don't intend to make things so easy for you," Yukino primly told Lucy. "Besides. Sting can handle this far better than either of those two,"

Sting whistled through his teeth, looking at the platforms that the Fairies were struggling to get across. "No. No way. I'm out. You two can have the points. We'll just pull back ahead in the later rounds," he snorted, dismissive.

"Sounds fine to me!" Gajeel grunted, forcing himself onwards.

Gritting his teeth, Natsu painfully dragged himself onto the next spinning platform. "Move . . forward!" he told himself, pushing through the crippling cramps and forcing himself ever closer to the finish line.

"Are you serious right now?" Sting huffed, glaring at the two men on all fours. "You can't even muster any power,"

"Hey, kid?" Gajeel, having been spun so that he was facing Sting, smirked. "Don't cry about that one point later," Suddenly, in a show of mounting, frenzied effort, both Dragon Slayers threw themselves forwards with agonised moans, every inch worth the effort.

Sting just watched in bemusement as they inched further and further ahead, folding his arms. "Would you just answer me one thing?" he requested.

Natsu and Gajeel paused, each looking back at him. "Yeah?"

"Why the hell are you taking part in this tournament?" the blond questioned. "I can't even believe you're the same Fairy Tail that I used to idolise. Is it the strength of your guild you're worried about? Or is it your public image?" he snorted, sounding derisive.

Every eye in the stadium was watching the screens that gave close-ups of their faces. "What's he saying?" Sarph questioned.

Lucy looked down at her guildmates in concern. "You don't have to do this," she murmured.

"The Fairy Tail that I knew never cared about any of that crap!" Sting burst out. "They did things their way, at their own pace. They didn't give a damn about what people thought of them," he huffed. "So what gives?"

"It's . . for our friends!" Natsu growled.

In the grandstands, the spectators of Fairy Tail's eyes widened. "Six years . . for all that time, they waited for us! They endured, no matter how painful it was . . no matter how sad . ." the pink-haired man growled. "They protected the guild! For their friends!"

With a moan, Natsu forced himself onto the final platform. "And now, we're gonna show everyone the proof. Fairy Tail never gives up!" he roared. "So keep going!" he challenged Gajeel.

"You said it, Salamander," the other Fairy grinned.

With an almighty roar, Natsu threw himself from the final platform and landed on solid ground. "Yes! I can move!" he declared, before setting off towards the finish line. A moment later, Gajeel picked himself up too, and chased after his guildmate.

"And it's decided! Fairy Tail A takes two points for sixth place, and Fairy Tail B gets one point for seventh! That puts them in joint last place, with two points apiece!" Chapati declared.

The Fairy tail booth erupted with praise.

However, at the top of the grandstands, Kynigós was caught between the edge of the cliff and the duo of Erza and Mystogan. He frowned. There was something familiar about the guy with the cloak . .

"How are you connected to Zeref?" Mystogan pressed.

And when he heard that voice, it clicked. Kynigós blanched. "King Mystogan?" he gasped. Kynigós and the reigning king of Edolas had parted on bad terms . . he was, after all, a wanted murderer in Edolas.

"Answer the question!" Erza barked, a sword appearing in her hands. In a flash, Kynigós produced a serrated hunting knife in response, holding it up defensively. "Who's Zeref?" he questioned with a frown. "Ugh, doesn't matter," He brandished the knife at Mystogan. "I won't go back with you! I have something important to do here!"

"And what would that be?" Jellal asked, reaching for one of his staves.

And suddenly Kynigós figured it out. Mystogan was determined to see him in jail for killing Knightwalker, and in absence of his own world's Erza he had recruited this one's to take him prisoner. He had heard that Mystogan could open Anima portals with his staves - was it the one he was holding that did that? Was the King willing to open an Anima in broad daylight, with bystanders only feet away? Could Kynigós take the chance that he would?

"You'll never take me! Not now, not ever!" Kynigós roared in their faces, gripping the balcony rail and backflipping over the lip to the city far below. Both dashing to the edge, Erza and Jellal watched him fall. "Suicide?" Erza guessed, but she was proven wrong when a massive silken parachute erupted from their quarry's back, allowing him to glide safely to the suburbs.

"He didn't know who Zeref was. And he called me 'King'," Jellal murmured. He and Erza simultaneously put the pieces together. "That man is from Edolas,"

"And, with that, Dungeon Duos is over! Let's take a look at the scoreboard, shall we?" Chapati suggested, his voice broadcast throughout the arena. "Whoa, we have a lot of ties here! In first place, with twenty-two points, it's Team Black Eye Pirates! After that, joint second is held by Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus with twenty points each. Tied for fourth is Lamia Scale and Phoenix's Eye at sixteen points. Sixth is Mermaid Heel with ten points, and Fairy Tail is tied with itself for last place, with two points apiece! But all that could change after we break for lunch, because in the afternoon, we're breaking for the battles event!"

-[CoT]-

"Order up!" Sarah trilled, carrying platters of Sausage Sandwich Specials into the Phoenix's Eye bay. Grace, a hungry light in her eyes, immediately scooped up a pile and started guzzling them down.

"That was pretty impressive, those two from Fairy Tail," Tyria admitted.

"Makes me proud to be a Dragon Slayer," Grace beamed through a mouth full of meat.

"Don't get too comfortable, everyone," Pierce warned. "One of us is gonna be going up in the battles portion this afternoon,"

"I hope it's me versus Lamia Scale," Sarph grinned.

"Can't wait to show Jashie and Eishaj how you've improved?" Tyria asked knowingly.

"Like you're any better, miss demigod," the angel snorted, recalling the fight yesterday.

"Still can't believe I lost my first real fight as a God Slayer," Tyria sulked, and Pierce slid next to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Chin up. I'm sure you're already sorting out how to beat him next time,"

"Yeah, but it's the principle of the matter," the Electrian huffed.

-[CoT]-

"Kynigós?!" Hisui exclaimed as the hunter burst into her chambers and slammed the door shut behind him.

As Kynigós and Zena were technically not supposed to be in the castle, Hisui was unable to secure them their own quarters. But her rooms were ridiculously excessive, and it was simple enough to set aside a spare bedroom nearby hers for them to sleep in.

"We've got a problem," the hunter growled, bolting the door and dashing over to the balcony, leaning on the railing and peering up at Domus Flau on the mountain above. "It's Mystogan. On Fairy Tail B. He's from Edolas, like me,"

"The alternate dimension? Right," Hisui nodded, remembering having read about it. "Do you two have history together?"

"I'm kind of a wanted criminal back there," Kynigós shrugged. "To be honest, it's been so long that it'd slipped my mind,"

Hisui blinked, not sure what to make of this. "Alright . . well, I need you here, so I'm sure we can come to terms with this Mystogan fellow," she nodded to herself.

"And if not," Kynigós affectionately patted his gun.

Hisui glared at him. "We are not shooting the emissary of another government. It would be a political disaster!" she snapped.

"Yeah, I guess," Kynigós accepted. However, the conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Two pairs of eyes went wide, and Kynigós frantically ducked behind the curtain.

Hisui scrutinised his hiding place, nodding her approval that he wouldn't be seen by the casual eye, before calling, "Come in!"

The door swung open, and a maid stepped forward. Hisui narrowed her eyes; she wasn't part of her staff.

Her suspicions were confirmed when a tall woman with neatly cut, bright pink hair, dressed in a low-cut, sleeveless red dress inlaid with gold gossamer, and an unpleasant smile plastered over thick, pink lips, emerged, the maid bowing respectfully to her. "Ah, Hisui, doll. You ought not to spent so much of your time shut up in here. There's a whole world out there," the lady spouted words like a fountain.

"What are you here for, Lady Demuri?" Hisui' voice was testing the boundaries of politeness.

The invader trilled a laugh in high falsetto. "Oh, there's no need to be so formal, please, call me Akari. Or, perhaps, mother?" she cast Hisui a wink that was no doubt intended to be conspiratorial, but simply came off as creepy.

Hisui was unmoved.

Lady Demuri's smile slipped for an instant. "Well, I'm off to attend the Grand Magic Games. I am to be the guest of honour today. So flattering,"

'As if she didn't spend months lobbying for that exact privilege,' the princess sighed to herself. "I see. Pray tell, what brought on the need to inform me of this in person?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you might like to join me? I'm sure the . . _organisers_ ," Demuri said the word as though it were homophonous with filth, "can set up an extra chair,"

"I am flattered by your offer, but the Games hold little interest for me," Hisui evenly replied.

The newcomer's smile disappeared at this. "Very well. I shall see you at teatime, then. Ta-ta!" And with that, the door closed, leaving no trace of her.

Kynigós pulled himself out from behind the curtain, wrinkling his nose. "So, who's the walking mascara stick, and did she actually just say 'ta-ta'?" he asked, half wondering if he had hallucinated the entire encounter.

"Lady Akari Demuri. My father's _suitor_ ," Hisui said the word with distaste. "Not that she actually cares much for him. She just wants to be Queen," she huffed.

"And you didn't go with her because?" Kynigós asked.

"Oh, she'd have loved that, huh? Being seen in public with the current princess? I actually don't want to help her worm her way onto the throne," the greenette snorted.

The hunter smirked. "So there is someone you don't like. It's not all about the kingdom after all,"

Hisui chuckled. "I never said it was," She saw Kynigós' expression. "You are not shooting her. There are better ways to handle a problem like that," she warned.

Kynigós raised his hands defensively. "Never said I was. Don't jump to conclusions,"

His only response was a small, stifled snort. "Anyway. I'mma go check on Zena. Then I'll head out and see if I can get some more information on this Mystogan fellow. Later," the hunter waved, leaving the room.

"Best of luck," Hisui nodded to him.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Running totals!**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 22**

 **Sabertooth: 20**

 **Blue Pegasus: 20**

 **Lamia Scale: 16**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 16**

 **Mermaid Heel: 10**

 **Fairy Tail B: 2**

 **Fairy Tail A: 2**

 **Interesting chapter. Also, !'d like to introduce everyone to the newest original villa -** ** _character_** **, Lady Akari Demuri. Fun fact; I came up with her surname by trying to find an anagram for 'Umbridge'. I eventually decided to stick to Japanese pronunciation style (after all, last time I checked this story is not set in a magical castle in England) and drop the 'b' and 'g', but . . just a neat little piece of trivia for my readers. Peace!**


	34. Maybe This Was A Bad Idea

Chapter 104: Maybe This Was A Bad Idea . . .

"Welcome back, everybody! I'm Chapati, and we're here for the battles portion of Day 2 of the Grand Magic Games!" the commentator exclaimed. "I'd also like to welcome today's guest of honour, finally. Give a rousing welcome to; Lady Akari Demuri!"

Everyone craned their necks as a tall woman with neatly cut, bright pink hair, dressed in a straight, low-cut, sleeveless red dress that looked more accustomed to a ballroom than the Grand Magic Games, her face slathered with make-up and lips set in a seemingly permanent scowl. "Good afternoon, one and all,"

"And now, what you've all been waiting for. The first matchup of the day is Lamia Scale's Lyon Vastia, versus Phoenix's Eye's Emanuel Arestrad!"

This was met with silence. Even Chapati seemed confused. "Wait. I don't remember seeing an 'Emanuel' on the list,"

Huffing with irritation, Boomer stomped out of Phoenix's Eye's bay and yelled up at the box; "I haven't gone by Emanuel in years! People call me Boomer!"

"Right, thanks for the clarification," Chapati nodded, handing the sheet to Yajima so that he could make the necessary adjustments.

"How uncouth," Demuri quietly huffed.

Lyon also strode out of his own team's bay and the two faced off. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Boomer," he cordially greeted his opponent.

"Same to you," Boomer nodded.

"If everyone's ready, let's kick this match off!" Chapati declared. "Ready, set, fight!"

"Sonic Shield!" Boomer immediately threw his boombox to the ground and caused it to project a spherical wall of sound that encased him.

Lyon immediately clutched at his ears, murmuring something. Subtitles, though, were provided.

 _It's so loud!_

Chapati tried to talk into the microphone, but faced a similar problem; the echoing sound was so loud that it drowned out all other noise.

 _It appears that Boomer is protecting himself with a generous supply of Sound - can anyone even hear me? Hello?_

Demuri was similarly displeased, shouting in vain into her mike.

 _What in the world - I want you imbeciles to find the idiot who agreed to this match transpiring and bring me their - are you listening to me? Good God!_

Gritting his teeth, Lyon pressed his hands together and cast.

 _Ice-Make: Tiger!_

A frozen feline emerged from his hands and leapt towards the Phoenix . . and was immediately shattered into snowflakes by the frequency of the sound. Boomer grinned.

 _I know you can't hear a thing I'm saying, but I've adjusted my boombox to put out a frequency that can shatter ice at close proximity!_

Lyon staggered forwards, realising that his magic would do no good. He frowned, thinking this over, and came to a realisation.

 _Wait. We're at an impasse. As long as you keep that shield up, I can't attack you, but also you can't attack me. Are you trying to score a tie?_

Boomer squinted, trying to read his opponent's lips.

 _Did you just say tie?_

Lyon cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled something indiscernible.

 _I can't hear you!_

Boomer frowned, shaking his head vehemently, and declared;

 _I'm not trying for a tie! What sort of self-respecting wizard would I be if I went into a fight without a way to win? I'm just buying myself some time, is all!_

Lyon blinked.

 _Pardon?_

Shaking his head and giving up the conversation, Boomer checked the device strapped to his wrist and murmured something.

 _Any minute now._

Chapati and Yajima looked at each other nervously. Were they really going to have to endure this for a full ten minutes until the match could be called as a tie?

Lyon cast another spell experimentally, summoning another sabre-toothed tiger, but the ice was shattered by the oscillations in the air. He sighed and decided to conserve his strength, just in case Boomer was planning something.

And then the arena wall exploded between the Phoenix's Eye and Blue Pegasus bays. Lyon drew back in surprise as a three-wheeled black magic-mobile, painted with white circuit decals and bristling with speakers, burst through the gaping hole in the side of the arena, and drew to a halt right behind Boomer, who quickly shut off his boombox's shield, tossed the speaker into its slot behind his seat, and climbed into the Sonic Boom's driver's seat.

It took everyone in the arena a moment to realise that the deafening music had stopped. "Oh, wow!" Chapati exclaimed when his hearing returned. "It appears that Boomer was just biding his time until - wait, is this even legal? Mr. Yajima, is calling a vehicle like this a breach of the rules?"

"Well, these are one on one duels. So technically that young man can do whatever he likes as long as he doesn't receive assistance from any other person. And it doesn't look like there was anyone else driving that car. So I suppose it's technically not against the rules," the chef shrugged.

"Any input, Lady Demuri?" Chapati suggested, and the noblewoman shook her head. "That vehicle is remarkably vulgar,"

"You hear that? Technically not against the rules!" Master Feng crowed, ignoring the lamentations of "I don't think I can hear anything." "That's how we do it in Phoenix's Eye!"

"Master, that makes it sound like we cheat," Eve put forward, and the guild master paused, realising that she was right. "Um, nevermind!"

The Sonic Boom drifted around, spinning on its tyres before pointing its nose at Lyon. The Lamia drew back as the massive speaker mounted on top of the vehicle folded forwards and aimed towards him. "Mega-Bass!" Boomer roared, firing his ultimate attack before Lyon could reacthfx.

The Ice Wizard couldn't dodge. The hypersonic quantum attack was too fast; faster than sound itself. The sheer concussive impact threw him straight across the arena and slammed his head into the stone wall.

Everyone fell silent at this. "Um," Chapati stammered.

With a quiet moan, Lyon collapsed to the ground.

"I . . think we have a winner, folks! In a shocking turn around, Boomer held out and retaliated, taking Lyon down and earning ten more points for Phoenix's Eye! That puts Phoenix's Eye in first place with 26 points!"

Phoenix's Eye erupted with cheers, and at this point some of the crowd joined in.

"We might just have a new champion approaching, folks! But let's see if they can keep this up! Because our second matchup today is Fairy Tail A's Erza Scarlet versus Black Eye Pirates' Artorias . ." Chapati trailed off. "Does no one in this guild have a surname?" he protested.

"Now be nice to the boy, he is an orphan," Yajima frowned.

Artorias quietly grumbled to himself. Because he needed _that detail_ to be broadcast all over Fiore.

"If it makes you feel better, I never knew my parents either," Erza admitted as she joined him at the centre of the arena.

Artorias nodded his gratitude wordlessly, but the knight wasn't finished. "I can't say that I'm particularly happy about this," she addressed Chapati and Yajima.

"Don't think you can win?" Artorias quietly questioned, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Hardly. But you are still tired from the event this morning, whereas I am fully rested. I would much prefer to fight you at your full strength," Erza admitted.

Over in the Lamia Scale bay, Chelia was about to speak up, but Jashie cautioned her. "Not a word. Phoenix's Eye is in first _and_ second place right now, if you help them it'll be that much harder to catch up. Better the points go to last place Fairy Tail," Chelia pouted, but nodded.

"It's quite alright," Artorias, whose hearing was better than Jashie remembered, assured the Lamia. "I have more than enough magic to fight,"

"Well, this looks set to be an exciting bout! The two strongest fighters of Fairy Tail and Phoenix's Eye alike -"

"Oi!" Natsu, Gajeel, Laxus and Masquerade all protested as one.

"- going head to head in a no holds barred showdown! And because Artorias already burnt his magic to win Dungeon Duos for his team today, he's at a disadvantage right off the bat! Can Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail A pull out a victory against these odds? Let's find out! Take your positions!" Erza and Artorias obligingly crossed to opposite sides of the arena.

Sif whined from the Black Eye Pirates bay, and Artorias cast a glance at her. "No, girl. Stay. This is my fight," he commanded her. Obediently, the «Dire Wolf» planted her rump on the ground next to Kenzie, letting out a mournful growl at the fact that her master was fighting without her by his side.

"Ready, set, go!" Chapati declared.

In a fluid motion, Artorias drew «Sleepless Dream» and levelled it at Erza with his right hand, before turning his left palm upwards and beckoning her towards him.

"You're a Blood wizard," Erza recalled. "Your Magic uses living tissue to fight. Which means;" She raised her arms and commanded; "Requip!" In a burst of light, she was clad in a white/Sky blue armour with gold trim and a dress split into three petals, and wielding a long, navy blue staff with a golden orb at the end.

"Lightning Empress Armour," Sarph recognised. "She's going to use electricity,"

"Very astute," Artorias nodded as Erza charged toward him, bringing her spear to bear. He raised his arms and swing «Sleepless Dream» downwards. "Bleeding Tsunami!"

In a rush, a gigantic wave of blood surged out of the ground to intercept Erza, catching her in the swell. Artorias smirked; she couldn't use electricity while submerged or she'd just hurt herself.

"Requip!" There was a flash of light, and Erza burst from the blood, clad in black armour with leathery wings spread wide. "Black Wing Armour!" Swooping downwards, Erza brought the spear of her Lightning Empress Armour towards Artorias. The Blood wizard blinked, realising that she was combining the powers of two armours to attack, and dashed sideways, leaving Erza to hit the ground. As soon as she had, her spear vanished, replaced by the sword that matched the Black Wing Armour, and she leapt at him - only to have her sword blocked by a slick, bloody blade.

The two redheads locked eyes. "I'm going to defeat you," Erza declared, pushing against Artorias.

Artorias pushed back equally, calm and collected. "I can't allow that,"

The wings of her armour flashed forwards, hoping to strike while Artorias' hands were occupied, but he leapt skywards, causing her to miss again.

And suddenly a pair of floating Heaven's Wheel swords shot from where they had been concealed behind Erza's wings and struck at Artorias, knocking him backwards.

"And after a tense conflict, Erza lands the first strike!" Chapati narrated.

Artorias landed in a crouch, before picking himself up. "Fine, then. I'll go on the offensive," he hissed, coaxing «Sleepless Dream» into the shame of a large battle axe, before charging at Erza. The knight held up her sword to block, but Artorias spontaneously transformed his weapon into a ball and chain and swung through her guard, pounding her in the chest. He whirled and struck again, pushing Erza backwards, before bringing the morningstar over his head to strike from above - only Erza blocked it with her sword, causing the chain to wrap around her blade.

With a grunt of effort, Artorias pulled her sword out of her hands and tossed it aside, before liquefying his weapon and converting it back into an axe as light flashed behind him. He brought the axe downwards - and there was a clang as it hit metal.

Artorias paused, seeing the massive shield that blocked his strike. "That's Erza's Adamantine Armour!" Elfman exclaimed from the bay.

"Indeed. The Adamantine Armour is said to be the ultimate defence armour. Artorias will be lucky to make a scratch!" Chapati exclaimed.

"I see," Artorias nodded, stepping backwards. "So that's your ace in the hole? An armour that can block any attack?"

"Hardly. But I think you'll have trouble with this one," Erza evenly retorted, splitting her shield in two and striking towards Artorias with a shield bash.

"But you trade mobility for durability," The Phoenix dodged her with ease. "Still. I suppose I'll have to get serious, then," he resolved.

"You mean you weren't serious before?" Erza irritably challenged.

"I don't see your Purgatory Armour," Artorias retorted.

A smile tugged at the Fairy's lips. "I wouldn't insult you by using that armour in this fight,"

The Phoenix nodded, stepping back and discarding «Sleepless Dream». The weapon clattered to the ground, and he pressed his palms together. Erza paused. 'He dropped his weapon?' she thought in surprise.

Artorias smiled savagely and declared; "Second Origin; release!" This statement was met with surprise from all who heard it as a wide magic circle, glowing blood red, erupted from the ground around Artorias for a moment, spinning around before liquefying and forming into a circular trail of blood that span around him. "Rise, my Bloodlust," he hissed.

Artorias flung his hands up, spraying blood from his fingers, which coalesced around his head, forming a gleaming crown that was adorned with a pair of long, curved, demonic horns that swept backwards from his brow. The remainder formed gloves with sharp claws almost a metre long over his hands, and Artorias opened bloodshot eyes, piercing gold streaked with red, as he lifted off the ground, the circle of blood erupting into a small hurricane that held him, levitating, in an updraft.

And then he lanced forwards, clawing at Erza's Adamantine Armour and beating at it with the tornado of blood that encircled his lower body. His claws liquified as he lashed out with them, penetrating the cracks in her armour and systematically dismantling it, piece by piece. With her reduced mobility, Erza struggled in vain as the Adamantine Armour was broken apart like a jigsaw puzzle.

"Oh my!" Chapati exclaimed. "It seems that Artorias has entered a powered-up form by releasing his Second Origin! Mr. Yajima, can you please elaborate on the nature of this phenomena?"

"Well, Second Origins are a recently discovered secondary reservoir of ethernano contained them. Some wizards have natural access to these reservoirs. It appears that Artorias ranks among these lucky few," the chef narrated.

Erza winced as every segment was stripped away, the two large shields eventually falling off. "You're vulnerable!" the Blood wizard declared, whipping her with streamers of blood from behind and sending her flying forwards. Erza, clad in only the few remaining chunks of Adamantium Armour, landed, span, and stared the bloody wizard down.

Artorias smiled darkly, raising his arms, still suspended within his whirlwind of blood. "I am the weeping Phoenix who sheds tears of blood as it rains down destruction upon its foes. I am Bleeding-Vein Artorias," He spoke softly, but every word echoed through the stadium. "And you have no armour that will not suffer the same fate as the Adamantium. Do you intend to continue the fight?"

In response, Erza drew herself to her full height and spreadeagled her limbs. "You're wrong. I have one set of armour that is unaffected by your power. And one weapon that will cut through your claws," she commanded, glowing with golden light as her body was cloaked in magic.

'Can I bring myself to do it?' Erza asked herself. 'Can I unshield my heart in front of all these people?' But she shook her head and told herself; 'I must. For my friends. For our guild. _For Fairy Tail!"_ she roared, before commanding, "Requip! Clear Heart Clothing!"

"How exciting! Erza seems to be invoking some power of her own! What manner of monstrous armour will she - huh?" Chapati blinked.

When the smoke cleared, Erza was dressed in plain clothing; a simple bra covering her chest and loose red pants with orange flame decals hanging from her waist.

"What sort of armour is that?" Yajima questioned in surprise.

"Does she intend to seduce him with those scanty garments?" Demuri hissed in displeasure.

But Fairy Tail went slack-jawed, seeing her change. "Her Clear Heart Clothing?" Gray spluttered.

"That's her most vulnerable armour," Lucy recognised. "She only wears it when she's taking down the barriers around her heart . . and for one other reason," she suddenly remembered.

Erza reached to her hip and, with a flash of Requip, a sword appeared, a seemingly plain katana with a black tassel and bandages around the base of the blade. "Come forth, Demon Blade Crimson Sakura," she invoked, drawing the weapons and holding it with both hands.

"The Demon Blade Crimson Sakura," Lucy whispered in recognition.

"It seems she's removed all of her armour to focus exclusively on that sword," Yajima observed.

"That must be one powerful weapon for her to leave herself so vulnerable in order to use it," Chapati observed.

Artorias raised an eyebrow, and used his typhoon of blood to lift himself higher in anticipation. If Erza had to aim higher, it would make her strike a tad less effective. "Are you planning to entirely forgo defence and focus exclusively on offence?" he questioned.

The crowd was silent. You could have heard a pin drop.

With a frenzied roar, Erza threw herself forwards, pelting across the arena and targeting Artorias, who reared back to buy himself a couple of extra seconds. "I'll end this with a single blow!" the Fairy shouted, bringing Crimson Sakura back to deliver a devastating slash. The redhead's eyes went wide as the blade inched closer, time seeming to slow down.

Erza' weapon flashed through the space that Artorias had occupied. The bloody tornado around him dispersed. But the blade met no resistance.

Just a fraction of a second too late, Erza realised that Artorias had just barely dodged the strike by dispersing the tornado that held him aloft and falling out of her path. As her sword cut through the air, it severed a single hair from Artorias' head.

And in an instant, time returned to normal, Erza flying past and hitting the wall, gouging a deep slash into it, as Artorias landed in a crouch, spinning and righting himself.

The crowd was silent for a moment, and the red hair that Erza had cut slowly fluttered to the ground.

"Incredible! Artorias narrowly avoids Erza's assault!" With Chapati's declaration, as though they had received permission, the crowd erupted in cheers, some rooting for the Fairy, some for the Phoenix.

Erza and Artorias stared each other down. "Clever," Erza acquiesced as Artorias lifted back into the air, reconstructing his tornado of blood to gain a height advantage.

"This fight isn't over yet," the Phoenix snorted, baring his claws.

"You're quite right," In a flash, Erza was charging at him again. Focusing the telekinetic abilities of her magic, the Fairy threw herself into the air and aimed downwards from the apex of her jump, bringing forth an overhead thrust that would prevent Artorias from dodging the same way.

The Blood Wizard surged upwards, forming a lattice with his two-foot claws and angling it ever so carefully. Again, time seemed to slow as the Demon Blade met Artorias' demonic claws at an angle, penetrating the condensed blood but being deflected a scant few degrees; enough that the sword missed its target. Erza barely had time to register what Artorias had done before he lowered his head and head-butted her with his demonic horns, sending her flying away even as his liquefying claws wrapped around the sword, hoping to pull it out of her grasp.

Bu Erza wouldn't let go. The backwards momentum from the headbutt was forestalled as she and Artorias pulled on the sword in a brief tug of war, and, spreading her legs, she channelled telekinetic magic into her feet to hold herself in midair. Unfortunately, Artorias had no such recourse, and in a sudden, explosive motion, she swung the sword that he was still clinging to in an arc, causing him to lose his grip and go flying into the arena wall.

The entire encounter took barely ten seconds.

"Did - did anyone see what just happened?" Chapati questioned, at an honest loss for words.

"I think Erza has the upper hand," Yajima observed.

Sif howled in horror, watching the beating her master had taken, and would have leapt out into the arena if Kenzie and Donna hadn't held her back.

Artorias struggled out of the crater left by the blow, but Erza had already landed and was charging with her katana. "For Fairy Tail!" she roared, slashing from shoulder to hip at her vulnerable opponent.

Her blade caught the single piece of blue shoulder armour Artorias wore on his left shoulder, slicing straight through it and cutting his «Bloodstained Tunic» open across the chest, knocking the Phoenix to the ground.

"Impressive," Artorias weakly murmured. This time, though, he didn't get back up.

"And with an unstoppable strike, Erza Scarlet claims victory for Fairy Tail A! Who would have guessed that such a come-from-behind victory could be achieved by the last place guild?" Erza turned and glared at Chapati. "They were the number one guild six years ago," Yajima reminded his fellow, and the bald man nodded. "Look at that fierce, unwavering conviction! Is this the face of the Fairy Tail that was once Fiore's top guild? Are we bearing witness to the beginning of the resurrection of the Fairy Tail of old? Well, either way, Erza Scarlet scores ten points for Fairy Tail A! That gives them exactly twelve points!"

Chapati paused, remembering the had a guest. "Lady Demuri, what are your thoughts on this unexpected twist ending?" he questioned the noblewoman.

Demuri scoffed. "When Fairy Tail fell six years ago, I thought it was good riddance to bad rubbish. Now it appears that a mangy animal is clawing its way back into the house, and I can't say I'm too happy about it,"

"Harsh words from our guest of honour. Let's see if our next bout will change her mind, shall we? We're about to see a battle of the babes in Blue Pegasus' Jenny Realight, versus Fairy Tail B's Mirajane Strauss!"

-[CoT]-

While the preparations for the next match were ongoing, and Fairy Tail was congratulating Erza for a well-fought match, Donna and Sif were helping Artorias stagger back into Team Black Eye Pirates' bay. Team Pierce, knowing they would not be called upon again that day, had joined them, as had many concerned members of Phoenix's Eye.

Sif, however, was hovering over Artorias' bench, growling at anyone who dared come close, and most of the guild were wary of the angry beast.

It wasn't long until Sensho, the guild's resident Tea Wizard and medic, was on the scene, armed with a teapot full of Vitali-Tea - and scampered back upon a growl from the angry «Dire Wolf». Artorias mumbled something, but Sif took no notice.

"I can't heal him with that wolf hovering over him!" Sensho protested weakly.

The wizards present exchanged glances. No one wanted to hurt Sif, but Artorias needed healing.

Pierce gulped. "Sif?" he tried, approaching the angry beast. She barked, and a harsh, female voice echoed in Pierce's ears; _"No one touches master!"_

"Sensho can help him. His tea can heal people's injuries," he explained, gesturing at the man in his conical straw hat.

 _"Don't trust strangers,"_ Sif growled.

"You've met Sensho before," Pierce coaxed. "Artorias trusts him,"

 _"He smells like_ plants _,"_ The wolf spat the word like an insult.

The others present exchanged glances, hearing nothing from Sif but growls. "Is Pierce really talking to her?" Donna questioned in disbelief.

"As far as I can tell, yes," Sarph admitted.

"Artorias isn't like you. He can't live only on meat, he needs plants sometimes," Pierce gently explained.

Sif paused, before gesturing with her snout at Pierce. _"You should give master the plants. Not him!"_ she commanded.

Accepting the compromise, Pierce held out his hand. "Sensho? The teapot?" Sensho obligingly handed the white porcelain teapot over to Pierce, and instructed, "Just pour it into his mouth. I made sure it's not too hot,"

Sif watching his every move, Pierce inched towards Artorias, who had enough awareness to open his mouth, and fed a dribble of warm liquid into his throat.

A moment later, the S-Class Phoenix pushed the teapot away, moaned, and sat up. "Sensho?" he muttered, massaging his temples.

"Yes?" the medic inched forwards, still staying well clear of the pet wolf.

"Why couldn't you have invented Coffee Magic instead?" Artorias protested.

There was a round of chuckles, as Artorias groaned and lay back down, Sif lying protectively next to him.

"Hey, everyone?" The Phoenixes looked up as Kenzie called from the edge of the bay. "You all might want to come and see this!"

Chapati was shouting over the intercom. "Two bodacious babes who are both masters of Transformation Magic? This is truly the stuff dreams are made out of! Somebody pinch me!" He drew breath, before continuing. "Of course, we're joined by a real ladies' man, Mr. Yajima. And I'm sure that our special guest Lady Demuri can over some insight into . ." The commentator trailed off, feeling a glare like needles dig into his skin.

"I'm really feeling like a young man today," Yajima admitted, oblivious to the tension between the people be was seated between.

"Ladies?" Captain Black "The Succubus" Kenzie ripped off her shirt and breeches, revealing a swimsuit underneath.

"Do you just wear a swimsuit under your clothes twenty-four seven?" Sarah, who was present in the Black Eye Pirates bay to show her support, questioned.

"Only for the Games. I thought there might be a water sports event. But this works too!" Kenzie exclaimed, before striding out into the arena. "Everyone, stop!" she yelled with the authority of a captain.

The lust-filled male population of the crowd all paused, seeing a third scantily clad woman enter the arena. "Stop and check me out!" Kenzie commanded, striking a pose.

"I didn't know they made swimsuits that small," Grace obliviously pointed out, looking at Pierce for answers - only to find that he was resolutely staring at the wall. "I have a girlfriend," he muttered.

"Not so fast!" Most of the crowd paused as Mermaid Heel sprung into action. "You don't expect us to let these bubble-headed bimbos hog all the attention?!" Risley demanded, and Arana chimed in; "We have strong and beautiful chicas as well," In perfect sync, "Team Mermaid Heel is the ultimate in girl power!" Meanwhile Beth just whimpered; "This is embarrassin',"

The four represented guilds exchanged glances, sparks flying between Jenny and Kenzie, as Chapati narrated, "Well, I certainly did not see this coming! Black Eye Pirates and Mermaid Heel have joined the party! Even Risley's ditched the junk in the trunk and brought the ba-ba-boom!"

The pirate smirked, tossing her black/red hair, and looked back at her bay. "Ladies? Are we going to stand for this?"

"Can't disobey the Cap'n, see!" From the stands, Tulip Shelley, loyal member of the Black Eye Pirates and professional thief, discarded her bandanna and frock, leaping down to join her captain with nothing but lacy underwear.

"Yes! We are!" Donna, who had been a conservative dresser ever since Mordonna had spent fifty years prancing around in a tigerskin leotard, hollered back. Masquerade, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling with himself. "I am not letting - my sister - go out there and - demean herself!"

Everyone was interrupted by Lamia Scale. "Hold it, you guys!" Two voices spoke in unison, as Sherry and Chelia leapt into the arena. "All these girls are missing the most important thing! What good is skating around in your little swimsuits if you don't have the love to back it up?" they demanded, landing in a crouch and having also stripped to their bikinis. "If you want love, then you've gotta give love~" Sherry declared, and Chelia chimed in; "And we're both busting at the seams with it!"

"Oh, so it's a doubles act, is it?" Shelley grinned. "Well, I can do yas one better, see! Many-Many!" With that, she clapped her hands several times, and an entire mob of clones of herself appeared to flank Kenzie.

Hearts burst out of the audiences' chests as the dozen Shelley clones joined arms with "The Succubus" and promptly started doing an Impromptu line dance before the competition, kicking up a leg at a time and providing an excellent view of twelve identical cleavages.

"Lamia Scale has joined in, but they're being blown out of the water by Phoenix's Eye's pirate division! Look at those legs!" Chapati cheered.

"Oi, you lot!" Master Feng looked around at the female Phoenixes in the stand with her. "Get down there and show them what we've got!" she commanded, folding her arms impatiently.

"But . . master, we don't all wear swimsuits under our clothes," Eve meekly protested.

"Who says we have to?" Balance challenged. "I can be plenty attractive just with what I normally wear!"

"Well, Ariel's beating you to it," Hare snidely pointed out, causing Blanca to promptly froth at the mouth as Ariel, who seemed to have borrowed one of her cousin's cardigans and shrugged it on over her receptionist's blouse, had already joined Kenzie and Shelley and seemed to be performing some kind of schoolgirl routine. "Hey boys, I'm new here," the bluenette cooed. "Mind showing me around?"

"Why you -" Blanca was prepared to leap down and tear Ariel limb from limb, but Feng held her back. "You should sit this one out. Most boys aren't into yanderes. Eve, Hare, Fleur? Get going," The mute Petal wizard was already perched on the edge of the stand, beckoning to her guildmates and shedding her clothes. Totomaru watched in disbelief.

Between Feng and Master Mavis' spectral encouragement of Fairy Tail - complete with inexplicable showers of swimsuits from the sky - it wasn't long until the vast majority of female wizards present were out on the arena in various poses. Even Alice had finally won out over Masquerade and was giving Lync something to drool over. Donna, who remained resolute on the bench next to Artorias, and Jashie, who regarded the posing witches with disdain, were the only holdouts.

"That's my girl!" Hephaestus roared encouragement of Tyria - who had shed her coat and corset - before being promptly restrained by Lance (another of Captain Black's crewmates). "Do you want to sound like you're attracted to your granddaughter?" he hissed, and the god paused. "Good point," he admitted, settling down.

"This situation has gotten pretty out of hand, wouldn't you say?" Mirajane questioned, and Jenny shrugged. "Yeah, but it's all in good fun and the fans are totally eating it up," she purred.

Chapati was somehow remaining professional, declaring; "If you wanted a heaping helping of fanservice, then, ladies and gentlemen, Domus Flau is most definitely the place you'd want to find yourself today!" Yajima promptly observed; "And unless we want an actual riot on our hands, we have no choice but to let this madness continue," The chef didn't seem too unhappy about this fact, which was more than could be said for Lady Demuri, who scoffed and observed; "Filthy plebeians,"

"But remember, folks, this is supposed to be a one-on-one fight, so Mirajane and Jenny will be the only ones scored!" Chapati declared.

Tyria swallowed, reluctant to admit how much she was enjoying the experience. Sensing her discomfort, Kenzie sashayed over to her, swaying her rear in the process, and clapped her on the shoulder. "Aw, relax, it's all in good fun. And you know Pierce is enjoying it," she gestured back at the bay, and, following her gaze, Tyria observed Pierce blushing and unable to look away from her.

"Wardrobe change! School swimsuits!" Chapati hollered, and suddenly everyone was in a matching blue plastic leotard. "Well, I can work with the theme," Ariel smiled, producing her fountain pen and spraying a transparent mist of water droplets into the air, creating wet glitter on the ladies' skin.

Tyria just groaned, and Kenzie ruffled the younger woman's hair. "Hey, it's your colour,"

"And now, bikinis and thigh-highs!"

"I still don't really get this," Grace observed.

"Just enjoy the attention," Hare advised her.

"Exactly," Jenny provided from a few metres away. "Doesn't it feel good to have so many people watching you? Don't you want to give them a show?"

"So it's like acting! Right!" Grace realised, beaming, and Jenny nodded encouragingly while some of the others sweat-dropped. Chapati's subsequent call of "Oh, look at that sweet little smile," didn't help matters at all.

"Who likes girls in glasses?" the lead commentator suddenly challenged. Tyria fingered the metal-rimmed glasses that had appeared on her nose. "These are messing with my HUD," she complained.

"At least you look cute," Turning, Tyria guffawed at the big, ugly glasses that had appeared to cover Hare's face.

Chapati suddenly turned to see Penny Prince, her purple half-moon spectacles glinting in the light, appear between him and Yajima with a smile. "I just couldn't pass up this one," the reporter beamed.

"What in the world?" Lady Demuri spluttered, fingering the sophisticated reading glasses that had suddenly appeared on the bridge of her nose.

"Cat ears!" Chapati shouted, and five duplicates of Shelley wearing bright pink fake ears lay down together, while Kenzie rubbed the lead one's head, clad in her own black cat ears and loincloth. "I'm a bad kitty," she hissed with a seductive smile.

Over in the Black Eye Pirates bay, Donna spluttered in disbelief as a very familiar tigerskin leotard appeared on her body with a matching orange headband that bore black stripes, her usual thick swarths and hat being deposited on a nearby bench. "No! I will not stand for this!" she declared, gathering up her robes and ducking into the bathroom to get changed.

"Bondage gear!" Chapati chimed in. Deciding it was best to just go with it, Tyria commanded; "TechType: Charge Whip!" and cracked a flailing cord of electricity in the air. She winked at Pierce, who felt a nosebleed coming on.

"You are all going to bow down to me because I'm the best at bondage!" Blanca roared at the assembled crowd.

"Know your place, you common cur!" Hare hissed, glaring down at her with royal authority, and Blanca flinched, before quietly inching away.

"Way to show her," Kenzie teased, having somehow produced iron anklets and handcuffs. "Come and dominate me, boys and girls," she winked at the audience.

"And now, how about a blushing bride challenge? Ladies, grab a lucky guy and squeeze into some wedding dresses!" Chapati commanded.

"Where is that blasted king when you need him?" Demuri growled.

"I swear, if any of you even mention Sigurd -" Hare roared, before pausing as Totomaru, who had somehow replaced his robes with a black suit, strode into the arena. Her breath caught in her throat.

"May I have this dance?" Lync offered to Alice, who gracefully accepted his hand with a warm smile. Meanwhile, Kenzie, seeing that Artorias was sitting up, sent a tendril of Shadow Magic arcing across the stadium. Before he knew what was going on, his loose robes had been replaced with a form-fitting tuxedo and the redhead was staring at the pirate's barely constrained cleavage.

Unfortunately, this was the exact moment at which Donna emerged from the changing rooms. She spluttered for a moment, staring at Artorias and Kenzie together, before sighing and shaking her head, sitting back down. Sif whined in understanding.

"Can I get a deckchair over here?" Pierce called from the edge of the Phoenix's Eye A bay. One promptly landed at his feet from Erza's direction, and he draped his orange jacket over the backrest, before beckoning to Tyria. "I think we should elope on some tropical island," he suggested, smiling as the Electrian lay down with him in the sun.

"I guess that's technically in the theme," Sarph shrugged, before scooping up Grace, who looked lonely, surrounded by couples. "And it's healthier than that," he observed, looking at Totomaru, who looked like Hare and Fleur were about to rip his arms off.

Meanwhile, the Eve of Phoenix's Eye was nervously holding hands with the Eve of Blue Pegasus, who chastely kissed her hand.

"Oi! Are none of you boys man enough to get with the best girl in the arena?" Blanca challenged, noticing that everyone was giving her a wide berth.

Ariel was similarly alone, and she sighed. "We do need more young men in this guild," the witch murmured, avoiding the lecherous eyes of Phoenix's Eye's older male population - but suddenly a flash of dark blue swept over her, and she found herself staring into Lorus' warm smirk. "Does the princess need a knight to rescue her from this shame?" he questioned.

"I thought I was your sub-plotting love interest?!" Blanca spluttered in the background.

"My character development has outgrown you," Lorus unrepentantly shrugged.

"Now that the wedding's over, let's get back to another swimsuit round!" Chapati eagerly shouted, but he was interrupted.

"Stop everything!" Every eye in the stadium went sky high, looking up to one of the statues that adorned the stands, where a tiny figure was perched. "This is an outrage!" Ooba Babasaama shouted, spinning her finger in a circle. "You foolish young people! Let Ooba teach you a lesson! So pay close attention, and learn . ." In a flash, she jumped down into the arena.

". . what it means to be a real woman!" In a flash, she had shed her coat, revealing a wrinkled, shrivelled body clad only in a skimpy swimsuit.

Everyone's libido immediately died a horrible death. Kenzie in particular was affected, her face turning a nasty shade of green that was particularly noticeable against all the white that had replaced every other colour in the arena, and she managed a few tottering steps before blowing chunks all over the floor.

"And with that crash course in reality the mood in the arena has been brought down to Earth Land," Chapati moaned. "It's over, folks, the other teams on the field have begun to clear out. We're also going to need a janitor,"

As the last few minutes of the match played out in the background, Tyria smiled at her boyfriend. "So, what was that about eloping?"

"It'd be nice. Warm sun, cool drinks, beaches, no judgemental grandparents -"

"What was that last one?" Pierce drew up short, seeing Hephaestus waiting for them in the bay with a stormy expression. "Umm . ." Tyria quailed.

But then he smiled and chuckled a little. "I'm just joking. You kids have fun. If you'd like, I know a lovely little island I went to a couple of centuries back with the sweetest little -

"Grandpa, I really do not need to know about all the other woman you dated before and since my grandmother," Tyria flatly interrupted him.

"Alright, alright," the god smiled tolerantly, before leaning into Pierce and whispering; "You should know, her grandma was very ticklish, especially under her -"

"Grandpa!" his granddaughter protested, which just sent the blond man into upracious laughter.

In the background, Chapati announced; "And the final match up of the day is; Mermaid Heel's Kagura versus Sabretooth's Yukino!"

Tyria stiffened, turning to look at the witch from Mermaid Heel with pity. She'd been on the receiving end of those monsters yesterday. She did not envy Kagura this fight.

 _Ten minutes later . . ._

The demigod in question stared, slackjawed, as Chapati declared Kagura's victory. "Damnit . . am I really still that weak?" she groaned.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Running totals!**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 26**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 22**

 **Sabertooth: 20**

 **Blue Pegasus: 20**

 **Mermaid Heel: 20**

 **Lamia Scale: 16**

 **Fairy Tail B: 12**

 **Fairy Tail A: 12**

 **Now, let's discuss this chapter.**

 **I never really thought about it before, but Pierce would definitely prefer eloping over a standard marriage. (You know all of Phoenix's Eye would follow him and Tyria wherever they go, though.) Clearly, this is the most important part of this chapter and Artorias' powered-up 'Bloodlust' state is completely inconsequential.**

 **Now, let's talk about Artorias' Bloodlust!**

 **Funny story, I originally planned to debut it during the fight against the Oracion Och. But it sort of just didn't happen - and here we are, almost eighty chapters later, finally seeing it. It's only reasonable that the two wizards who can use Second Origin fight, right?**

 ** _note to self find an excuse for all of Team Pierce to get their Second_** **\- I'm not saying anything! Nothing to see here, folks! Peace!**

-[CoT]-

"Hey," Kynigós greeted Hisui as she returned to her quarters from dinner. The princess gasped in surprise, before frowning. "You shouldn't surprise me like that!" she snorted. "And - I told you not to startle me at this time of night!"

"Well, I figured you'd want an exception, since I have a theory about where the dragons are hiding," Kynigós explained.

The greenette blinked, before smiling. "You do? That's brilliant! Where are they?"

"It's quite simple, really, when you think about it," Kynigós admitted, striding out to the balcony. "What's the one place where no human has ever set foot? Where the terrain is so barren that only something as powerful as a dragon could sustain themselves? They've been hiding in plain sight all along," he growled, leaning on the balcony.

Hisui left her room and joined him, watching him intently. "Well? Spit it out, where are they?"

Kynigós took a deep breath, before looking up, where a pale, cyan, partly-lidded eye shone down at them. He pointed upwards, targeting the celestial body in the sky above, and declared; "Isn't it obvious? The dragons are hiding _on the moon_!"

Hisui blinked, and quietly repeated to herself; "The dragons are on the moon," She shook her head in confusion; it sounded ludicrous, yet at the same time, it was the most sensible explanation anyone had come up with yet.

"Well . . then what are we supposed to do?" she questioned in confusion.

"We need . ." Kynigós paused, drawing breath. "To destroy the moon!"

(And in a completely unrelated incident, a certain elder on Galuna Island spontaneously sneezed.)


	35. Snow Way We're Losing This

Chapter 105: Snow Way We're Losing This

The night after the second day of the Grand Magic Games, some of the members of Phoenix's Eye - specifically, those staying in a tavern near the centre of town, not with Ariel's cousin - were awoken by a tumultuous racket.

Masquerade, who was an insomniac by nature, was crouched on the roof when it happened. "Holy shit; is that the Sabertooth tavern?" he questioned in disbelief, adjusting his lenses to zoom in.

A few moments later, Lync and Artorias - both of whom always slept alert, for reasons of their own - joined him on the roof. "What's going on?" the Blood Wizard quietly asked.

"Some chump's making a ruckus at Sabertooth," Masquerade explained, gesturing to the smoking tavern.

"Think we should go investigate?" Lync questioned.

"Bad idea. If we're seen anywhere near Sabretooth at a time like that, we might get mistaken for trying to sabotage the other teams. We're already in the lead, Sabretooth would jump at the chance to get us disqualified on trumped-up charges. We'll find out what's happening tomorrow,"

"Back to bed, then?" Lynx suggested, standing up, but neither Artorias nor Masquerade moved. "Whatever's going on, it might target us next," Artorias pointed out. "I won't be caught with my glasses off," Masquerade agreed.

Lync shrugged, not really believing there was a threat. "Suit yourself," And with that, he went back downstairs.

-[CoT]-

The third day of the Grand Magic Games dawned bright and early, and at ten o'clock the crowd and competitors had assembled and were ready to begin.

"Good morning, everybody!" Chapati burst out. "I'm Chapati, joined here by my friend Mr. Yajima, and also today's special guest! Please welcome, a representative of the Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Unit, Lahar!"

"It's a pleasure to be here," the man in question smiled.

"So, Lahar, who are you rooting for in this year's games?" Chapati questioned, and he gestured to the two Phoenix's Eye bays. "I'm happy to see my friends in Phoenix's Eye have been performing well thus far. They've got my support,"

"Good to hear. I'd also like to warmly welcome back Mato!" Chapter declared, gesturing to the punpkin-headed mascon in the centre of the arena. "Great to be back!" the little man waved.

"But, without further ado, let's get today's proceedings underway!" Chapati declared, pressing a button and bringing up a massive screen that showed the scoreboard. "Lahar will be happy, because Phoenix's Eye is dominating! Phoenix's Eye A is in the lead with 26 points, and Black Eye Pirates is right behind them at 22! Safe bet Sabertooth is in a three way tie for third with Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus at 20 each, with Lamia Scale at sixth with 16 and Fairy Tail A and B clawing their way back with 12 apiece! But that could all change today!"

Phoenix's Eye erupted in cheers. "You show 'em!" Feng hollered.

Sarph, ever observant, eyed the Sabertooth team for their reaction. "That's odd," he observed. "That Celestial Wizard who lost yesterday. She's not there anymore,"

"Man. One loss and you're out? Tough," Tyria observed.

"I'm glad we're not like that," Pierce agreed.

"Now, today's event is one I've been looking forward to for quite a while!" Chapati declared, and the timetable shone as the '?' on the third day's schedule was replaced by a single word. 'Bobsleds'.

"I'm out," Gajeel, Sting and Rogue immediately declared.

"Sounds like an ice event. I'm in," Gray declared, only for Erza to hold up an arm. "You already had a turn. I'm going in today," she declared, striding out to join a waving Mato in the arena.

"If the event is focused on a sledding race, a person with more weight will be able to go faster. Therefore, the person with the most weight should enter," Sarph surmised.

The other members of Phoenix's Eye A looked at his bulging muscles and heavy gold armour. "You could have just said 'I'm going,'," Boomer pointed out as he strode in.

Over in Lamia Scale, Jashie and Eishaj looked at each other for a moment, an entire conversation transpiring in a few seconds. "Eishaj is competing," Jashie told her teammates.

Fairy Tail B looked among themselves. Specifically, Gajeel and Laxus.

"You two are the biggest ones here," Mirajane pointed out.

"No," Laxus grunted.

"This sounds like a vehicle event. If I'm getting motion-sick now, I'm not touching no sleds," Gajeel snorted.

Mirajane, Juvia and Cana all exchanged nervous glances. "But - none of us are bulky at all!" the barmaid protested.

"Tough, figure it out yourselves," Gajeel snorted.

"Stand back, ladies. I'll take this one, and I have an ace up my sleeve," Cana declared. "But I might need a hand," she winked.

Over in Mermaid Heel, everyone's attention was on the Gravity Wizards. "I'd go, but I already competed once," Risley pointed out. "And I might get rostered for a match today. I haven't done one yet," Everyone remembered yesterday, when Artorias had competed twice sequentially and lost the battles round. Mermaid Heel perfectly understood Risley's concern.

"I'll go," Kagura accepted, striding into the arena.

Blue Pegasus exchanged glances. "The guy in the bunny suit's the biggest one here," Ren pointed out. Ichiya drew breath to protest, but the mystery figure saluted, before striding out onto the scene.

"I have been itching for a chance to show off. I'm taking this one!" Masquerade declared.

"But we need someone heavy," Donna pointed out.

"I am wearing a titanium breastplate under my coat," the Brawler retorted, pulling his white coat open to reveal dark metal. No one could argue with that, so Masquerade joined the ring.

Sabretooth, finally, finished deliberations. "I'm up," Orga declared. Over in Phoenix's Eye A, Tyria watched this and fumed. "Damnit. Sarph, can we switch?!" she hollered.

"What about weight?" Sarph hollered back.

In response, Tyria cracked her fists together and commanded; "TechType: Tectonics!" to morph her fists into massive metal clubs.

"Oh, so Phoenix's Eye is making a last-minute substitution! In that case, our contestants this morning are Tyria from Phoenix's Eye A, Masquerade from Black Eye Pirates, Orga from Sabretooth, Kagura from Mermaid Heel, Eishaj from Lamia Scale, Erza from Fairy Tail A, Cana from Fairy Tail B and the mystery contender in a bunny suit from Blue Pegasus! With that, let's get this event started!"

In several flashes of light, eight bobsleds appeared in a row, each marked with the respective guild's logo; the sole exception was the Black Eye Pirates, which instead bore Kenzie's eye-and-crossed-feathers standard in black. As soon as Tyria entered the area, the circle of ground rose high into the air much like it had yesterday, until it towered above the arena. In a glistening aurora of Ice and Snow magic, a massive, curving halfpipe snaked around the pillar until it reached the ground where the finish line appeared.

"The rules for this event are simple," Mato explained. "Each wizard must ride their team's sled down the slide until they reach the finish line. The order in which you arrive will determine your standing. But be warned; if for any reason both rider and toboggan leave the track's area, they are immediately disqualified and will end up way down at the bottom of the leaderboard. So if you want to make sure someone loses, give them a knock. But be careful, because you might take a knock yourself! Now, is everyone ready to begin?"

"Hold it!" Cana burst out, looking down at the Fairy Tail B bay. "Boys? Mind sending up my fuel?"

"With pleasure!" Gajeel shouted up at her, as he and Laxus each punted a two-gallon keg of beer high into the air. Eyes followed the kegs as they landed, only to be caught by Cana and Erza and deposited into the back of Team B's sled. "Okay, _now_ I'm ready," the alcoholic declared.

"Impressive! It seems that Cana's strategy is to use her booze as bonus weight!" Chapati narrated. "Any further interruptions?"

"Wait, that's legal?" Erza spluttered, having been convinced until that moment that the referees were going to shoot down the alcoholic's plot. "I should have brought my luggage!" she moaned, thinking of her massive trailer of equipment and supplies that she always brought when travelling.

Each wizard obligingly took their places on their sleds.

"On your marks!" Mato counted down. "Get set! Let's go!" Immediately, the eight participants kicked off, Cana's extra weight scoring herself an early lead.

"TechType: Jetpack!" Massive silver struts that bore blue turbines unfolded from Tyria's back and whirred into life, propelling her forwards. Unfortunately, Kagura was to her left and wouldn't stand for it. Standing, balanced effortlessly on the moving vehicle, she drew her sword, Archenemy, wrapped in bandages and sheathed as it was. "Style of the Undrawn Long Sword; Slashing Form!" In a swift stroke, she severed Tyria's left turbine, causing it to go flying away before dissipating into ethernano. The demigoddess screamed in both pain and loss of control, as her single remaining turbine caused her to cut Kagura off and swerve to the left. The swordswoman's eyes widened as her manoeuvre backfired, causing her sled to hit Tyria's flank head-on and send them both toppling into a painful crash.

"Ooh! A spectacular move from Kagura backfires and puts Phoenix's Eye and Mermaid Heel in last place!" Chapati winced.

Five of their competitors carefully avoided the crash site and continued onwards, but Orga skidded to a half, regarding the two dazed wizards with contempt. Reaching into the rubble, he pulled out Tyria's dazed form and sneered, "Who's the fake now?" before throwing her across the course and straight over the edge.

Gasps rang out throughout the crowd as the Electrian fell through the air from the highest part of the course. "Oh my! Orga seems intent on dealing with his greatest competition! But I don't think he thought this through!" Chapati gasped, knowing that his words were most likely false but working regardlessly to keep the crowd convinced of fair play. "Surely that's a violation!" Lahar exclaimed, looking thunderstruck. "Unfortunately, it's perfectly legal," Yajima sighed.

"Tyria!" Pierce screamed, the entire Phoenix's Eye team bursting out of the bay in a futile effort to catch her. Grace screwed up her face and focused, casting. "Bent Gravity Loop!" In a blur of distorted space, Tyria vanished from her place sixty feet up and appeared, upside-down, only a few metres above them, where her lingering momentum carried her a ways into the air. Pierce, Boomer and Sarph all scrambled to get beneath her - but a massive felt oven mitt appeared, catching her in its folds before shrinking back to normal size.

Hephaestus inspected his granddaughter as she rubbed her eyes with a solemn frown. "You've made an enemy today, Sabretooth," he growled.

"Amen to that!" Pierce roared as Tyria was set in her feet. "D-did I lose?" she blearily murmured.

"Hey, don't worry about that. We'll catch up in the battles portion," Pierce assured her.

Meanwhile, back on the course Orga was in the process of yanking Kagura out of the rubble, intending to do the same to her - but the moments it had taken him to deal with Tyria had provided the Mermaid with enough time to recover. "Not today!" she spat, a glob of phlegm landing in his eye, and Kagura took advantage of the momentary distraction to wrest herself free of Orga's grip, grab her sled, and throw herself back down the slope.

"It seems that Orga's manoeuvre has cost him; Sabretooth is now in last place!" Chapati observed. "Serves them right," Yajima huffed.

Meanwhile, the race for first place was going on. "Requip! Purgatory Armour!" Erza invoked, and in a flash of light, an empty suit of armour landed in the sled behind her. "Requip! Giant Armour!" Another joined the growing pile. "Requip! Adamantine Armour!" Her freshly repaired shield was dropped on the back of the sled, providing both a defence from the rear and more weight.

"So that's your plan. Pile up your armour to increase your weight," Masquerade observed with a feral grin. "I think I'll take a more direct approach, though. Amaterasu Formula 4!" Four magic circles appeared around each of his arms, and he pointed them backwards, before firing the spells. The recoil from the twinned magics launched him forwards, sending his toboggan rocketing past Erza's mountain of metal and approaching Cana.

The card magician cast a glance at the approaching Phoenix and gulped. "Card Magic: Fizz!" she hastily cast, throwing a playing card into the rearmost of the two barrels on her sleigh, causing it to crackle as the liquid inside was rapidly carbonated. "C'mon, mama needs some points!" she declared, reaching back and banging on the barrel - which immediately burst its lid, launching a geyser of cheap beer that propelled her forwards, maintaining her lead and splattering Masquerade with alcohol.

"You'll pay for that!" Masquerade roared, before clinging to his sled and trying desperately not to lose control.

Meanwhile, behind the three, Eishaj glanced at the bunny suit man from Blue Pegasus, not saying a word.

The felt eyes of the fur suit gazed back, its permanent creepy smile boring into his soul.

Eishaj leaned over the nose of his sled, coaxing ever more speed out of it. Not just for the race. That suit creeped him out.

There was a whistling noise, and suddenly Kagura shot between them, riding her bobsled like a surfboard, Archenemy's sheathed point digging into the ice behind her and being used as a rudder. The dark-haired girl gritted her teeth in focus, pouring her Gravity Magic into her sled to increase its weight and propel her further.

It wasn't enough, though. She was still nowhere near first place. And a thought struck her.

Suddenly, Kagura leapt from her sled, hissing; "Slashing Technique," and with three deft strokes cut a hole in the ice beneath her, spinning in mid-air as she did. She had just enough time to leer at Eishaj and the bunny man before her sled shot beneath her, in which she landed and effortlessly fell backwards through the hole, fully expecting a rough landing that would put her in first place. "Incredible! It seems that Kagura will do whatever it takes to win!" Chapati exclaimed.

Instead there was a clatter of metal, and her sled started to list to the side. Frowning, Kagura peered over the edge.

She had, apparently, landed on top of the mountain of armour that Erza had loaded her own sleigh with. At the bottom of the pile, the redheaded Fairy looked up in surprise, before frowning. "No passengers!" she shouted, standing and wheeling, drawing a sword and clambering up the pile, fully intent on removing the unwelcome guest. Kagura just snorted, raising Archenemy and preparing to do battle.

Meanwhile, Eishaj, with gritted teeth, dove through the hole that Kagura had left behind, dropping to the level below. The bunny of Blue Pegasus decided it wasn't worth the risk of crashing and took the long way around.

"Incredible!" Chapati exclaimed as Erza and Kagura's swords met. "It seems that a spontaneous sword fight has broken out on board Erza's mountain of metal!"

In front of the duelling swordswomen, Masquerade was launching himself forwards with a series of Amaterasu Formulas, neck and neck with Cana.

He promptly dodged a thrown empty barrel. "Hey!" the Brawler shouted, returning fire with a blast of magic.

"Sorry, had to clear the way," And then the second barrel on Cana's sled burst open with a geyser of fizz, rocketing her onwards. Masquerade watched her go with a frown.

Over in Fairy Tail's stand, the ghostly Master Mavis cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted; "Now, Cana!"

"You got it, First!" the lady retorted, pulling her sleeve back to reveal an intricate tattoo.

Masquerade frowned. "What's this sudden feeling?"

Erza and Kagura also paused, each craning their necks to look at Cana. "Is she serious?!" the other Fairy exclaimed.

"120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" Suddenly the hill of armour exploded with black lightning, knocking Erza backwards and Kagura skywards, and sending an avalanche of assorted armour tumbling in every direction as Orga, leaving a trail of electricity in his wake, blasted past them both and into third place.

But it was rendered moot as Cana stood up and shouted; "Gather! Oh river of light that's guided by the fairies!" The intricate tattoo around the Fairy Tail mark that had appeared on her arm shone, and Masquerade drew back, recognising the pure Light magic and knowing that it would be particularly dangerous to a being of negative energy such as him. "Shine! In order to perish the fangs of evil!" Cana continued, raising her arms and preparing to unleash the power.

In a flash, Orga rounded the corner and narrowly avoided the slowing Masquerade, grinning at the fact that he had claimed second place. But his smile slipped as he saw Cana preparing to cast one of the three Great Magics of Fairy Tail.

"Fairy Glitter!" Cana burst out, unleashing the accumulated magic power, pointing the spell straight _down_.

The resulting shockwave blasted a massive gash into the side of the pillar, arcing from Cana's position halfway down the circular sled run, straight to the lowest level far below. Orga screamed as the ice around them both was vaporised, and Cana whooped as they fell, driving the nose of her sled, printed with the Fairy Tail symbol as if was, straight down, turning her vehicle into a missile to increase her aerodynamics.

"I don't believe it!" Chapati exclaimed from the commentator's booth. "Cana has destroyed the track and blasted herself a shortcut straight to the finish line!"

"That magic power was unbelievable. What was that spell?" Lahar questioned in disbelief.

Masquerade blanched, before shaking his head and driving onwards, dropping into the gulf in hot pursuit of the Fairy and Sabre. "Crazy bastards," he growled as he fell,

Erza and Kagura, having both recovered, drew to a halt at the edge of the gulf Cana had opened, and each paused, wondering how best to circumvent this.

"Requip! Heaven's Wheel Armour!" Erza commanded, cladding herself in the armour of Titania. Clinging to her sled, she dove into the gap, spreading her wings and diving downwards.

Kagura watched her go, growling to herself, before pausing. "They said we had to cross the finish line with our sleds. Not that the sled had to be intact," One slash from Archenemy later, she was holding the metal plate that bore the symbol of Mermaid Heel in one hand, and without further hesitation, leapt into the gulf.

Meanwhile, Cana saw the ground approaching fast, and pulled out a card from her pocket, throwing it at her impact site. "Prayer's Fountain!" she cast, and a torrent of water burst from the card to cushion her impact, spreading outwards in every direction. Steering her sled like a surfboard, Cana aimed towards the finish line, but frowned as she lost momentum.

This quickly ceased to be a problem as Orga landed, headfirst, in the water behind her, sending out a wave that spurred the Card Magician onwards.

"And she's done it! In a reckless and destructive, but successful gambit, Cana Alberona has claimed first place for Fairy Tail B!"

A few floors up, Erza and Masquerade exchanged a quick glance before Erza pulled up, swooping diagonally towards the finish line. Masquerade gritted his teeth, silently wishing that Hydranoid hadn't gone back to New Vestroia, and splayed his fingers, summoning a massive Amaterasu Formula circle around his sled - then another, and another, and another - and then he hit the ground with a spasm and bounced, the soft ethernano, reinforced a dozen times over, acting like a cottony wheel and sending him rolling towards the finish line.

Orga, who was slowly paddling towards the swamped finish line, watched him go in disbelief. "Is he serious?" He frantically redoubled his efforts as Masquerade rocked his way onwards.

"And Erza claims second place!" Chapati declared as the Requip Mage landed next to Cana, before looking back at the competition. "How creative," she observed as Masquerade rolled onwards.

Meanwhile, the water finally having drained enough for him to stand, Orga started pacing his way the last few metres towards the finish line. But a splash behind him alerted him to the fact that Kagura had landed, the chunk of her sled tucked under her arm, and was in hot pursuit. And she was gaining on him.

"And now Kagura, Masquerade and Orga are in a dead heat! Remember, folks; Mermaid Heel'e guild hall is right by the beach, Kagura knows her way around water!"

"Knees up, feet out of the water," the Gravity Mage remembered the lifeguard sessions that their master had insisted everyone take, and hightailed it through the shrinking current. Orga had no such training, and was slowly, inefficiently wading towards the finish line. Meanwhile, Masquerade frantically tried to shift his wait to make the last few feet across the finish line. The three were neck and neck, inched away from the finish line - and one of them crossed just a second ahead of the other two.

"And third place goes to Orga of Sabretooth, while Kagura takes fourth!" Chapati declared.

"Don't help me! I can make it!" Masquerade shouted and finally managed to cross the finish line. He gladly dispelled the formulas - and the freed sled promptly fell on of him, pinning him beneath its weight.

"By using a rather creative, albeit ineffective, application of his Amaterasu Formulas, Masquerade finally rolls into fifth place!" Chapati declared. "Now, let's see how the last two teams are going?" he questioned, and the screens around the arena panned up to the edge of the gap that had opened where Cana cast Fairy Glitter.

The man from Blue Pegasus hidden within the bunny suit shook his head vigorously, waving his arms to indicate his refusal to follow his fellow competitors.

"Hold on. Where's Eishaj?" Chapati asked in confusion.

Slow clapping echoed from behind the competitors who had already crossed che finish line, and they all turned to see the Positive Power Mage smugly smiling at them.

"Wow! How long has he been there for? And . . how did he get there?" Chapati spluttered in confusion.

In response, Eishaj gestured at a freshly-melted tunnel through the heart of the ice pillar.

"As impressive as that is, technically you only place when you cross the finish line. By going around the finish line Eishaj technically has not finished yet," Yajima's words wiped the smile off the man's face, and, dragging his sled behind him, he pushed through the other wizards and stood over the finish line.

"And it's settled! Lamia Scale takes sixth and Blue Pegasus seventh! Meanwhile Tyria's early elimination puts Phoenix's Eye A in dead last. What a pity. Let's hope they can make up the difference in the battles portion of today's events!" Chapati excitedly exclaimed. "Now; can someone please go rescue Blue Pegasus' mystery man?"

-[CoT]-

"I can't believe that jerk knocked you out like that!" Grace exclaimed, looking unusually angry. Ripples in the air around her demonstrated that her power was starting to vent.

"We're gonna make them pay," Pierce agreed.

"No," Tyria growled. "The rest of Sabertooth is fair game. But Orga is _mine_ ,"

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, while the event was going on, Kynigós had been busy. As soon as he saw that Mystogan was, for some reason, absent from the Games, he had infiltrated the stands, and started asking questions about Mystogan.

But all he got were the basic; Mystogan was an unknown. In every sense of the word. Kynigós was on the verge of giving up when he obtained a crucial detail; these Games were the first time Mystogan had been seen since X784.

Kynigós growled, his suspicions confirmed. "He really is here for me," It made sense, too; helping them represent in the Games must have been Fairy Tail's price for helping him find Kynigós. Equal trade.

He growled to himself. He'd agreed with the princess not to hunt down and kill Mystogan. Politics or something. But if Mystogan confronted him again, well . . he didn't know that Kynigós had become a Dragon Slayer.

He might find himself biting off more than he can chew.

-[CoT]-

"It's time for Doctor Kit's Documentaries!" Kit cheered.

"Now, the author thought you might be wondering how it is that Masquerade managed that last stage of today's Bobsled event,"

"Simply put; magic circles, especially Amaterasu Formulas, are constructs of ethernano. They are tangible and can be touched. And while they're pretty flimsy, if you stack up enough of them it is possible to use them as a physical object!"

Kit paused. ". . . Wait, is that seriously it? Give me screentime, damnit!" he protested.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **I am proud to say that I found a** ** _more wasteful_** **use for Fairy Glitter than blowing up an MPF!**

 **Destroying a sled track is more wasteful, right?**

 **Maybe this isn't something I should be trying to compete with Mashima on . . oh, whatever. You know I'm right. Anyway, score tallies!**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 26**

 **Sabertooth: 26**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 25**

 **Mermaid Heel: 24**

 **Fairy Tail B: 22**

 **Blue Pegasus: 21**

 **Fairy Tail A: 20**

 **Lamia Scale: 18**

 **. . Okay, seriously. I did not expect Phoenix's Eye to dominate so much. Fairy Tail and Sabretooth are supposed to be winning, damnit! I mean, that's gonna change by the end of Day 3, but . . damnit!**

 **Also, an interesting little note; this chapter marks the hypothetical halfway point of the entire story of Phoenix's Eye! Granted, it would surprise me immensely if this chapter proved to be the halfway point in terms of word count, but in terms of chapter number, we're halfway there. In case you haven't already worked it out, I'm planning for Phoenix's Eye to end up as a trilogy of three seventy-chapter stories - not counting, of course, spin-offs like the Filler Episodes or Apocrypha - and this is the thirty-fifth chapter of the second part of the trilogy. Ergo, it is the 105th chapter of a planned 210. We're halfway!**

 **I feel like I should be doing something more important to celebrate . . oh well. Peace!**


	36. A Dragon's Determination

Chapter 106: A Dragon's Determination

"I'm telling you guys! It needs to be Laxus vs. Grace! They need a rematch!" Penny shouted.

"But you're talking Laxus, versus a little girl. It'd be a curb stomp. That's not cool!" Jason, also on the game maker committee, pointed out. Not that he expected it to convince his colleague. This was, after all, the sixth time they'd had this conversation.

"Trust me, this needs to happen!" Penny protested.

"Fine!" the head of the table shouted. "Laxus vs Grace, if only so you'll shut up about it!"

-[CoT]-

Mystogan felt his communication lacrima vibrate, and he picked it up. "Ultear?"

"We've detected a magical signature that matches Zeref's in Domus Flau. It matches that of the person you encountered yesterday," Ultear told him.

"Don't go!" Merudy immediately shouted across the link. "That council guy's still there. If he catches you, you're in deep trouble!"

"It's worth the risk," Jellal told his fellow members of Crime Sorciere. "We need to find out what's going to happen. And this man from Edolas is our best chance at that,"

-[CoT]-

"Welcome back to Day 3 of the X791 Grand Magic Games! I'm Chapati, here with my colleague, the esteemed Mr. Yajima and today's special guest, Lahar from the Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Unit!"

"Let's have a good, clean fight this afternoon," Lahar provided, still annoyed about how Orga had eliminated Tyria in the morning's events.

"I'm very excited for this afternoon's fights! I'm sure everyone's noticed that throughout the games, two teams have dominating everyone else. One of them, you all know and love, the reigning champs Sabretooth! And the other, the unexpected front runners who placed third in the prelims, Team Black Eye Pirates! Now, the organisers thought it was about time to see which of these two teams is superior. So without further ado, I'll announce the first matchup of the day! It's Team Sabretooth's Minerva Orland versus Team Black Eye Pirates' Black "The Succubus" Kenzie!"

"Awesome, I'm finally up!" Kenzie beamed, bursting out of the bay, before pausing. "Hey! It's Kenzie Black, not Black Kenzie! Stupid cross-cultural . ." On the Grand Line, people put their surnames before their first names. So when Kenzie had first gone there and introduced herself as "Kenzie Black", people had assumed that her given name was Black and called her as such. In the intervening years, the Phoenix had gotten quite accustomed to introducing and signing herself as Black Kenzie . . and apparently she had automatically, accidentally put that on the paperwork for the Grand Magic Games. Damn.

A thought struck the pirate, and she skipped over to Phoenix's Eye A's group. "Hey, smart guy? What can you tell me about this chick?" she addressed Sarph, as, directly adjacent to her own team's area, Minerva emerged from Sabretooth's group.

Sarph immediately produced an Archive screen and frowned. "Well . ."

"Come on. Magic? Fighting style? Sexual orientation? Dom or sub? Anything?" the pirate captain pressed.

In response, the knight swivelled the screen to face her, which had two words printed in block capitals; 'NO DATA'. "I have no idea at all what she's capable of," he admitted.

". . Well, crap. Guess I'm going in blind. Eh, hardly the first time. I'll work it out," Kenzie arrogantly declared, wheeling and turning to face her opponent.

"If you're both ready; let's begin!" Chapati exclaimed.

Kenzie didn't even have enough time for a quip before Minerva was in front of her, delivering a crippling blow that knocked her straight across the stadium. She hit the wall with a crash, her captain's hat falling from her brow and dropping to the ground. "No time to warm up?" she questioned in disbelief, while frowning and thinking. 'So she uses her magic power to bolster her physical strength. But that can't be her only skill. What's the true nature of her magic?'

Suddenly a circle appeared in Minerva's hands, and she cast a spell - and in an instant, Kenzie had been teleported into the air, high above Minerva. "What the -" the pirate spluttered as she started to fall, and the witch prepared a blow aimed straight upwards.

Looking down, Kenzie immediately realised her game, and growled. "Shadowmake: Dinghy!" she declared, creating a small boat under her feet out of shadows. Whilst Minerva had accurately guessed that she had no attacks designed to hit someone below her, no one had ever said that Black Kenzie was unable to improvise. Minerva' eyes widened and in a flash, she teleported out of the way before Kenzie's blow could (literally) land.

The pirate jumped clear, and eyed her opponent warily from across the arena. "Fine. I'll get serious," Kenzie hissed, and with a roll of her muscles, her skin burst out in silver lupine fur, a short tail emerging from her breeches and lupine ears crowning her the growing red mane.

"Ooh! I didn't know that Kenzie was also a master of Take Over Magic!" Chapati exclaimed.

"It's a Devil Fruit, dumbass!" the transformee turned and hollered - and that gave Minerva an opening to kick her in the back of the head, sending her crashing to the ground. "Stay on the ground where you belong, you dog," the black-haired Sabretooth hissed.

"I really hate it when people use dog puns to insult me," Kenzie growled, before leaping high into the air, flipping, and landing in a crouch, facing Minerva. Her tail hung low, and her lips were pulled back in a feral grimace. "I'm a wolf, damnit!"

"What's the difference?" Minerva huffed, unimpressed.

"Shadowmake: Ocean!" Like a rolling mist, black shadows spread out from Kenzie's claws in every direction, spreading around her until they covered the entire arena. "You may know your Games," the captain hissed, "but I know something you never have. What it's like to be out there, surviving by any means necessary. I'm one of the only people in the world who can combine Devil Fruit powers with Magic. I didn't learn that to win Games," Suddenly she leapt forwards, long, shadowy claws outstretched to cut Minerva to ribbons.

With a grimace, the Spatial witch flickered away - but almost before she appeared some feet away, Kenzie had retargeted and was attacking her again. Not expecting such a rapid follow-up, Minerva was unable to dodge in time and took the blow, being knocked to the ground, where Kenzie pinned her. With a frenzied thrust Minerva knocked the hybrid away, but the Phoenix landed perfectly and flew at her again.

"How are you doing this?" Minerva demanded, teleporting directly behind Kenzie, but in an instant the S-Class caught herself on her hand/claws and kicked backwards, catching Minerva in the chest and knocking her to the ground again, amidst the ocean of shadows.

"This spell is attuned to my nervous system!" Kenzie roared, whirling and pouncing on her again, opening her mouth wide and manifesting a massive set of shadowy teeth. "As long as you're in my ocean of shadows, I know where you are down to the centimetre!"

"Wha - aargh!" Briefly stricken by this realisation, Minerva screamed as the shadowy teeth sunk into her right arm. She shook, trying to dislodge the feral wizard, but Kenzie held fast, using her free hands to pummel her.

"Fine. If that's how it is," And, suddenly, Minerva took off, running at full speed and dragging the pirate along the ground behind her. Kenzie hastily released the Spell and watched as the Sabretooth pelted away. "I see. If you keep moving, you think you can outpace me," she murmured, before dropping to all fours. Quiet cricks and clacks sounded, and her body's proportions changed, Kenzie becoming more bestial by the second as her clothing melted away, her modesty protected by a thick coat of silver-grey fur.

"What's she doing?" Eve questioned, and Shelley explained; "Zoan-Type Devil Fruit Users normally have three forms, see. All human, all animal, and a hybrid. She's going full wolf, see,"

Kenzie howled, before launching herself in Minerva's direction like a spring, the transformation having drastically boosted her speed. Her opponent gritted her teeth and poured on her own speed, narrowly dodging the animalistic witch and wading through the shadows, which suddenly seemed to become thicker, impeding her movement more. Even so, she kept ahead of her pursuer, and the two became blurs that leapt around the arena and occasionally clashed, Kenzie biting or cuffing, Minerva punching or kicking.

But Minerva had one crucial advantage; agility. And it only took a minute of this back-and-forth to realise this.

The crowd watched as the Spatial Mage vanished from the arena. "Huh? Where'd Minerva go?" Chapati frowned.

"I'm not sure, but if she's not back inside the arena in thirty seconds I'm going to have to count this match as a ring out and give the win to Kenzie," Yajima frowned.

"We really have to wait that long?" Lahar quietly muttered.

"Don't worry!" Everyone looked up as Minerva's voice echoed from above. Like Ooba on the previous day, she was perched atop one of the great statues that crowned Domus Flau, looking down at Kenzie below. The commentators craned their necks to look up at her. "Technically that is still within the arena, if only because we never imposed an upwards limit. Carry on," Yajima admitted.

"This feels right," Minerva spoke aloud, looking down at Kenzie, a tiny grey shape amidst the lingering blackness that covered the arena floor. "You're so far below me that I can barely even see you. Not just you, either, dog girl. All of you pathetic little wizards, in your weak little guilds," There wasn't a single wizard in the arena who was smiling when these words were broadcast throughout the bays and stands. Everyone outside of Sabretooth felt their blood boil. "You should all just bow down before our might - or, even better?" A wicked smile plastered itself across Minerva's lips. "Just lie down and _die_ ,"

Kenzie growled, shifting back to her hybrid form and raising her hands. "Shadowmake: Cannonball!"

Minerva watched as the projectile reached the apex of its arc, just too short to hit her. "How pathetic," she hissed. "But I suppose I should finish this fight. Feel honoured, whelp. You'll get to see a taste of my real power. Before you die, that is," She spread her palms upwards, and suddenly purple lightning crackled around her as she chanted; _"Niel Wielg Mion,"_

Masquerade stiffened. "What is this power?" he questioned, feeling intense negative energy that resonated with his core as Minerva continued; _"Terse Elcantaeus,"_

"Kenzie! Take cover!" the Darkus Brawler shouted, realising this went beyond the game and feeling honestly scared for his guildmate's life. He would have switched out with Alice - no doubt she knew something about what was coming - but there wasn't enough time.

"This magic," Sarph mumbled, gulping. "It's one of the Eighteen War God magics,"

But before anyone could ask what that meant, Minerva finished her incantation. _"Yagdo Rigora!"_

A massive pillar of golden light raced up into the sky, enveloping the arena and burning away Kenzie's shadows. And then a gigantic statue, a divine-looking white effigy, appeared in the sky above, before plummeting downwards and crashing into the ground, crushing Kenzie's comparatively tiny form into the ground beneath it. The impact sent cracks spreading through the statue, from which golden light began to spill.

"What is this?" Chapati questioned, looking horror-stricken. "Minerva! This is a bit too much, don't you think?"

But the witch just smiled as her attack prepared to detonate, heedless of the destruction it would cause. She didn't care. As long as she won. And with this final blow, there was no doubt that -

 **"NO."** Suddenly, the light stopped, and the statue crumbled to dust before their eyes.

"What is this?" Chapati questioned. "Did Kenzie -" But the sight of Phoenix's Eye's S-Class pirate crushed into the ground, clearly unconscious, forestalled him.

Instead, from the Phoenix's Eye stand, Hephaestus was standing on the guard rail, his blond beard and hair crackling with energy. His hands were raised and he had obviously just cancelled Minerva's spell. "This goes _no further_ ," he growled, his voice resonating throughout the arena.

There was a moment of silence.

"Um . . unfortunately, I now have to officially call the match in favour of Sabretooth because of outside intervention. Normally this _should_ mean Phoenix's Eye is disqualified from the entire Games, but given the circumstances I don't think that's necessary," Chapati stammered, still looking shell-shocked.

As Phoenix's Eye charged onto the field to rescue Kenzie, Minerva landed before her team's bay and strode back inside with a small smile. Behind her, the scoreboard dinged, Sabretooth's total increasing from 26 points to 36, and the entry rolled upwards, landing them in first place, just ahead of Black Eye Pirates' 35 points.

The pirate hung limp as Sarph picked her up, and Lance and Shelley watched in concern as the knight carefully carried her back to her team's bay, which was the fastest route to the medical facilities.

"Sabretooth!" About to vanish into the changing rooms, Minerva paused and turned. Sting, Rogue, Orga and Rufus all followed her gaze.

Lync, his face full of righteous anger, glared them down, the other seven available members of the two Phoenix's Eye teams standing behind him. "That was too far!" he hollered.

No one could say that Lync was the strongest of the wizards in Phoenix's Eye. Indeed, as a Vestal he was reliant on the magic-boosting abilities of his Gauntlet to hold his own among the Fioreans. But by the same token, no one could deny that Lync was the most vocal of the wizards in Phoenix's Eye. And he was giving voice to the sentiments that all of them shared.

"You're going to pay for that! You hear me?" Lync roared. "We're gonna take you down!"

"Hah. Beaten by a bunch of no-name nobodies. That'll be the day," Sting snorted.

"Who the hell are you calling a nobody?!" Suddenly, Hare was in front of them, looking livid. "I'll have you know that I'm a goddamn princ - argh!" Suddenly both Hare and Lync were being dragged back towards the Phoenix's Eye bays by Artorias, who was holding them by the ear.

"Control yourselves," the Blood Wizard hissed at them. "If we do anything now, we might get disqualified,"

"But aren't you angry?!" Lync demanded.

Artorias paused and looked at him - and the salmon-haired boy quivered, taking in the barely controlled rage that dominated the boy's features, his golden eyes looking bloodshot as he struggled to contain his magic. "There is a time. And a place. And, I assure you, _it will come_ ,"

Once the arena was cleared, Chapati decided to take back control of the situation. "Now that that's over with, it's time for our second matchup of the day! Let's hear it, for Mermaid Heel's Millianna . . another wizard with no surname! And she'll be fighting Blue Pegasus' Ren Akatsuki!"

While the fight was going on, much of Phoenix's Eye was clustered in the medical facilities, where Sensho was tending to Kenzie's wounds.

"How is she?" Lance questioned. The first mate of the Black Eye Pirates was understandably concerned about his captain.

"She'll live," Sensho assured them. "But, barring a miracle, I don't think she'll be able to compete in the Games again this year,"

The door swung open, and everyone turned to see an odd trio enter the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but would you mind if I tried to help?" Wendy Marvel, Fairy Tail wizard, meekly asked.

There was a moment of silence, before Phoenix's Eye stepped aside, allowing her and the white cat who followed her everywhere - Charle, Pierce thought - to look at Kenzie's battered body. "Think that qualifies?" Boomer whispered to Sensho. "Excuse me while I go buy a lottery ticket," the Tea wizard replied.

"Might I have a word with the leaders?" Lahar, having patiently waited for Wendy to say her piece, asked.

Master Feng immediately stepped forwards, and Pierce looked at Sarph, but the golden knight shook his head and pushed the Tamer forwards. After a moment's hesitation, Grace joined the pair. She was by no means a leader, but wanted to talk to Lahar regardless.

The councilman silently invited them both out to the corridor, where the veil of politeness vanished to unleash a stormy look on his countenance. "Sabretooth is _far_ out of line," he declared.

"Tell me about it!" Pierce declared.

"I'm not certain that's all there is to it," Feng, clearly the most Level-headed person present, mused. "It seems to me that Orga and that new substitute member, Minerva, are the real problems. That Yukino girl who fought yesterday and the two Dragon Slayers seem benevolent enough, and Rufus from Day 1 acts rather indifferent from what I've observed,"

Lahar nodded. "You have a point. Unfortunately, we cannot legally disqualify either of them, or Sabretooth as a whole. Besides, their actions these Games might have eroded their fan base, but if we tried to disqualify them we still might have a riot on our hands,"

"No," Pierce frowned, his eyes dark. "I don't want them disqualified. I want them to stay in the Games and continue to compete against us,"

Lahar blinked. ". . Why?"

"Because that way, we get to kick their asses!" the blond snapped. "To hell with disqualifying them! That would be letting them off too easy. We are gonna make them _pay_ ,"

A reluctant smile tugged at the Councilman's lips as he took in Pierce's words. "Sometimes I envy you guild wizards," he mused with a smile. "Very well, I'll cancel any attempts to get them disqualified. But, do me a favour?" he requested, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?"

"Get a hit in for me," the councilman requested, before looking at Grace. "And I suspect that I already know what you're going to ask me about?"

"How's Erik's probation going?" Grace immediately confirmed Lahar's suspicions.

The man sighed, his smile drooping. "Not well. I'm afraid that there's a lot of people in the legislative system who aren't keen on seeing a member of the Oracion Och walk free. I'm working on it, but it's slow going," he bemoaned.

"Oh," Grace's face fell, and Lahar gazed at her with pity. "Don't worry, we'll get there. The 'use him as an example to show that anyone can reform' angle is a popular one. It's just a matter of time,"

"Okay," the young Dragon Slayer nodded with a small smile.

"In the meantime, I suggest that you prepare yourself," the councilman advised her, and Grace paused. "For what?"

Suddenly, the speakers crackled above them and Chapati's voice boomed; "And after an intense battle, Millianna has claimed victory and ten points for Mermaid Heel! But we have no time to waste, folks, so let's prepare for the next rousing fight! We're gonna see Fairy Tail B's Laxus Dreyar versus Phoenix's Eye A's Grace Hystia!"

". . Oh," Grace murmured.

"Hey. You got this. Go show 'em what Phoenix's Eye is made of," Pierce immediately assured her.

"Remember, brat. You're a phoenix dragon," Feng smiled.

The young greenette grinned fiercely. "Yeah!"

-[CoT]-

However, while the Phoenixes were talking and healing, and the battle between Milliana and Ren was raging, Kynigós was still in the stands, watching.

Jellal, however, had seen that Lahar had stepped out, and knew he wouldn't get a better chance. So he emerged from the entrance to the stands and advanced towards Kynigós.

Of course, his finely tuned instincts immediately picked up on the approaching adversary, and Kynigós rose, stealing a glance at the masked man with his staves mounted on his back, before briskly striding through the stands towards the closest exit in the other direction.

Jellal, seeing this, quickened his pace, but not so much as to draw attention, just as Kynigós swept into the stairwell and, in a series of leaps, jumped from flight to flight until he reached the main atrium of Domus Flau. As most of the crowd was upstairs in the stands, only a few patrons were present.

With a burst of Heavenly Body Magic, Jellal pursued, flashing down the stairs and landing at the bottom. He looked through the doorway, but saw no one.

Cautiously, he advanced, looking around - and a shadow burst out from behind the doorway, pinning Jellal in the corner. The disguised wizard was mildly alarmed to find a rifle pointed at his chin and a pale face framed with blond hair and hazel eyes staring into his own. "I'm giving you one warning, Mystogan," Kynigós hissed. "In four days this world is going to end, and I'm the only one who can do anything about it. So yes, I killed Knightwalker, guilty as charged and all that crap, but I don't have time to go to Edolas jail or whatever. So back the hell off," he growled.

Jellal blinked. "What do you mean, the world is going to end?" he settled on. The blatant admission that he had killed this Knightwalker person rankled with him, but given the circumstances he had to prioritise.

"Ten thousand dragons are going to come from the moon and overrun the planet. I've been to the future, I've seen what happens to the world. I'm not going to lie down and let it die," Kynigós hissed.

The dark wizard stood, ignoring the gun in his face, and informed him; "In that case, we're on the same side,"

Kynigós blinked, and Jellal clarified. "I think you've made a mistake. I'm not King Mystogan, my name is Jellal Fernandez and I'm native to Earth Land. I'm the leader of an independent guild named Crime Sorciere, and for years we've been investigating traces of dark magic that always crop up at the Grand Magic Games. But from the sounds of things, this is far more serious than any of us thought,"

Kynigós quirked an eyebrow. "So you aren't here to arrest me?"

"I'm a wanted criminal. I have no grounds to do anything of the sort," Jellal dryly informed him.

"Pierce Kynigós. I go by my surname in this world, though, since there's already a 'Pierce' with my face running around," Kynigós explained, sheathing his gun. "He's right upstairs, actually,"

"I know. I saw him compete yesterday," Jellal nodded. "I've been looking for you because you're covered in dark magic that exactly matches the type we've been searching for. Do you have any idea why?"

Kynigós rolled his eyes and sniffed his jacket. Looking closely at it, Jellal noticed patches where it was darker than other places. Stains? . . Bloodstains? "First dragon blood, now dark magic . . nope, haven't a clue," he admitted.

Jellal frowned, but paused as he heard heavy footsteps approaching. He looked past Kynigós - and saw the armoured form of Colonel Arcadios approaching. The criminal went white, and hissed, "One of my friends will contact you later,"

"Huh?" Kynigós blinked, but in a flash of Heavenly Body magic, Jellal was gone.

"Who was that?" the hunter heard Arcadios question, and span to face the taller man. Recognising him as no threat, Kynigos relaxed and shrugged, "Some vigilante type. Called himself 'Jellal Fernandez'. Turns out, he's this world's version of King Mystogan, so that's a load off my back," the hunter grinned.

"I see," Arcadios frowned. The name vaguely rung a bell, but . . he shrugged, unable to place it. "Well, I've been looking for you, anyway,"

"Yeah? Why?"

Arcadios smiled. "Fancy a drink?"

Kynigós mulled over his request. It had been a _very_ long time since he'd had any alcohol. And Zena was safe in the castle, hopefully. "You bet,"

-[CoT]-

Of course, Grace reflected, it was a lot easier to be confident when she wasn't staring down the mountain of fur-swarthed muscle that was Laxus Dreyar, grandson of their rival Guild Master, who was glaring at her as though daring her to attack him.

"Three, two, one, fight!" Chapati counted down, and the match timer started ticking.

But for a moment, neither wizard moved.

Grace feinted forwards, trying to provoke a reaction. Laxus didn't move and she skipped back to her starting spot.

'I can't try a sneak attack from behind. He's too fast,' Grace thought to herself. "But . . maybe if I . ." With a flick of her wrist, she tore a spatial distortion open before her and leapt through it, appearing right behind Laxus and already charging up; "Reality Dragon's . ."

Laxus immediately span and lunged for her - but his hand met an invisible barrier in mid-air, a second rift that Grace had opened leading into a nearby wall - functionally placing a displaced chunk of invisible stone before him - and Grace declared; "ROAR!" launching her attack through the original rift and into a _third_ distortion that span it around and hit Laxus from behind. The impact threw the Fairy into the invisible wall, and Grace leapt back into the first rift, returning to the far side of the arena and dispelling the bent space.

Laxus picked himself up, frowning, before charging towards Grace, intent on ending the fight quickly. With a yell of; "Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" his fist crackled with a web of electricity, raising it to bring it down on Grace.

In an instant, Grace flashed back to her fight against Necrozma and leapt into the air, opening a rift beneath her feet leading into the ground. Her feet found solid matter in mid-air, and she jumped again, getting out of Laxus' reach.

"Go Grace! Now hit him from above!" Pierce cheered from their bay.

Laxus just frowned and leapt upwards.

"Argh!" Grace squeaked as the electrical fist flew towards her, and quickly exchanged the space she was occupying with an equal area across the arena, leaping out of the affected region before letting it snap back. "Reality Dragon's Roar!" she declared, launching another attack at her airborne opponent. It struck home, and Laxus fell to the ground in a crouch. "Stop moving," he grumbled, getting back up.

"No thanks!" Laxus dodged sideways as Grace rammed him from behind head-first, shouting "Reality Dragon's Pronged Plumage!" The blow narrowly grazed the man's hip, but before she could vanish into another rift, the blond grabbed the back of her dress and held her up. Their eyes met for a moment, Grace full of determination, whereas Laxus simply looked irritated. And then he threw her straight across the arena.

Spreading her arms wide, Grace caught herself in mid-air, popping up twenty feet above Laxus and, cloaking her still-outstretched arms in grey, reality-defying energy, plunged downwards at right angles to the ground, declaring; "Reality Dragon's Spiral Slash!"

Laxus had ample time to grab her and repeat the manoeuvre, but he realised that if he did, Grace would just attack again. So he back-pedalled, letting his enemy crash into the ground, before punting her across the arena with a "Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"

The electricity surged through Grace's body, triggering - _the pain only stopped when she used her power_ \- a massive burst of spatial magic from her mouth, but it was off-target, carving a furrow into the ground near Laxus' feet.

"Grace!" Pierce gasped, fighting the urge to rush out and aid his adopted sister as she crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Oh! One solid hit and Grace goes down! A bit anticlimactic, but I guess that's ten points to - oh, no wait! Grace is getting back up!"

Sure enough, the young girl was struggling to her hands and knees, shaking off the trauma and preparing for another round.

"There's only one thing I can do to match him. But, do I have enough power?" she asked herself, scouring the inside of her body for every last drop of ethernano. "I need to eat," she resolved.

As the Reality Dragon Slayer, it was, of course, possible for Grace to eat reality to power herself up. Of course, biting holes in the fabric of space-time was inherently dangerous, so she tended to avoid it. But there was still one way that she could power up safely.

So Grace bared her chest, a defiant look in her eyes. "Come on! Hit me with your best shot!" she challenged.

Laxus quirked an eyebrow, and nodded, raising his arms, which generated a massive charge of electricity that he shaped into a spear. "Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" he yelled, launching the attack with all his might at Grace's prone body.

And, opening her mouth wide, Grace caused the attack to break down into grey particles that she sucked up, consuming the reality of Laxus' magic and dispersing the remainder into ethernano.

"Incredible! Grace appears to have tricked Laxus into powering her up!"

"You couldn't do that before," the Fairy observed, curious. "I suppose I was right, all those years ago. You do have potential,"

Ignoring him, Grace focused, clenching her fists and spreadeagled her limbs. A corona of reality-defying power enveloped her, and inside the scar on her chest, her control lacrima glowed, overwhelmed. With a fizzle, two of them burnt out and went dark - not that anyone could tell.

Shining, Grace's green hair paled until it was a shade of grey so light it was almost white. Her fingernails and toenails darkened and extended, sharpening into claws. A sudden pressure built at the back of her head, two grey semicircles emerging from it that formed four interconnected horns which fused at the tips. There was a dull, painless crunch as her spine extended, growing out into a lithe, thin tail, coated in grey scales, that ended with a wicked white blade. Matching scales rapidly coated her left arm, inlaid with streaks of blue. Grace's vampiric canines spread until her mouth was full of teeth like tiny daggers, and her orange eyes gleamed, glittering with power.

"A transformation has overcome Grace's body! Would this happen to be that legendary state that Dragon Slayers can achieve?"

Laxus seemed genuinely taken aback at this. "I thought Second Generation Dragon Slayers like us couldn't use Dragon Force," he murmured in surprise.

Baring her fangs, Grace lunged forwards and vanished. Laxus span, but she was too fast and couldn't dodge in time, declaring; "Reality Dragon's Pronged Plumage!" This time, the impact hit home, knocking Laxus backwards, and Grace vanished again, revelling in the power coursing through her.

Laxus frowned, immediately realising what he had to do. "She keeps moving, I'll never be able to hit her if I aim at her," he growled. "So . . I'll just have to use an attack that hits everywhere at once!" With that goal in mind, the man strode to the exact centre of the arena, closed his eyes, and focused.

Grace popped into existence above him, preparing to land a blow - but suddenly a fist crackling with electricity slammed into the ground, generating a massive shock wave of lightning, a hemisphere of pain that rapidly expanded. "Lightning Dragon's . . Storm Front!" Laxus yelled. Her eyes widening, Grace teleported away, appearing several metres to the left - but the frontier of sparks swelled towards her, and Grace twisted herself to the edge of the arena.

But, the assault seeming to speed up, she was struck from behind, the electricity causing her to spasm and triggering the ersatz magic circuits that had grown keyed to this sort of stimuli - feeling the irrepressible urge to roar, Grace frantically tore open a rift in front of her to prevent the crowd she was facing from getting hit.

However, her positioning was off.

Laxus was suddenly blindsided by a maelstrom of reality-bending magic that carried broken chunks of wall within it. Grace had accidentally opened her distortion inside the wall, and part of the masonry had been carried along with her attack.

"And an unexpected counterattack from Grace makes creative use of the arena itself!" Chapati narrated, and the crowd cheered.

"Uh, yeah. I meant to do that," Grace unconvincingly confirmed.

And suddenly a fist slammed into her back. Laxus, making a quick recovery but nursing a bruise on his chin, had realised that Grace was instinctively roaring every time she was electrocuted. Now that he thought about it, he remembered hearing something like that . . regardless, he could just pound her into the wall without magic.

He hadn't, however, counted on the distortion still being open. So, instead of Grace hitting the broken wall, she flew straight through it and landed where he had been standing a moment ago.

Wheeling, Laxus charged towards Grace, but the young powerhouse was already recovering. Her tail flicked through the air as she span, the curved blade arcing through space and opening a subtle distortion before Laxus, which the man plunged into, emerging behind her, his momentum keeping him going.

Her fingers splayed, Grace closed the rift once her opponent was clear of it, before clenching into a fist. With the added speed Dragon Force granted her, she'd come up with a new technique; one that it was time to test out. "Reality Dragon's Transcendental . ." she started, punching forwards into a tiny rift.

Laxus recognised the attack, Reality Dragon's Transcendental Fist, from the last time they had fought, and ducked, knowing she would target his head. And she did, a fist shooting out of midair, cloaked in reality.

And then a second one hit his back. And then a third hit his hip.

". . Gatling!" A rain of punches hit him from all around, Grace's fists whipping in every direction, each one passing through a new portal.

And then Laxus' fingers snapped out and caught one of her fists. Immediately the hail stopped - after all, Grace still only had two hands - and Laxus took her arm with both of his and pulled her through the rift, which Grace barely enlarged in time to prevent herself from getting caught.

Laxus stood tall, holding her up by an arm with a frown. For a moment, the two Second-Generation Dragon Slayers locked eyes, and Grace defiantly glared at him. "I'm not going to lose," she hissed.

The Fairy digested this for a moment, his unblinking gaze meeting her own. And then he smiled.

With a fluid motion, he threw Grace across the arena - but, with a wave of her hand that wasn't sore from being caught, the Reality Dragon Slayer switched the space in front of her with the sky twenty feet above her and flew into the air.

And then a burst of lightning arced up from below, striking Grace in the chest.

"You shouldn't always attack from above. It makes you predictable," Laxus declared - but then he realised his mistake.

A hurricane of grey energy crashed down around him, forcing him to the ground, followed by the lithe body of the Dragon Slayer.

"And, in a stunning reversal, both of our combatants hit each other at the same time! Is this how it ends - no!" One of the two was struggling to their feet. Laxus flexed his muscles, trying to rub away the aches that had blossomed on his arms and shoulders.

"Is this it? Has Laxus claimed victory?" Chapati questioned.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer slowly turned, intending to ensure that Grace was, in fact, out for the count.

But she was gone.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!" Laxus looked up to see Grace hovering in mid-air, suspended by her bent gravity Spell. Reality rippled and bulged around her, and she looked frazzled. 'I'm gonna put every last drop of magic I have left into this spell,' Grace thought to herself. 'Neither of my existing Secret Art spells will work against Laxus, he's too fast. I guess it's time to try out the new one,' After watching Shelley and her ability to duplicate herself seemingly endlessly, Grace had been inspired to come up with a new technique.

Suddenly there was the sound of something cracking, and the Grace that everyone was watching turned green. "Dark Matter," she declared, and with flashes of colourful light, six more Graces flashed into existence, red, orange and yellow versions of herself to Laxus' right, and blue, indigo and violet duplicates on her left.

"Multidimensional Convergence!" the seven Graces commanded, each unleashing a full-powered Roar that buffeted Laxus from every direction, forcing him to the ground. Dazed, the Lightning Dragon Slayer hit the dirt.

With flashes of light, each Grace vanished until there was only one Grace remaining, the original green, who immediately became fully coloured once more and fell to the ground, eyes closed and a pained expression frozen on her face.

The crowd was silent for a moment. "I'm not going to call it early again," Chapati insistently declared.

A moment passed. There was no change in either fighter's condition.

"Well, I suppose that's all she wrote! After a stunning battle for the ages, the fight between Laxus and Grace has ended in a tie! Five points to both teams! That puts Phoenix's Eye A in third and Fairy Tail B in fourth!

Pierce was the only one who went to pick up Grace this time. As she shifted out of Dragon Force, he picked his adoptive sister up and stroked her hair, hugging her tightly. "You did good," he murmured.

A small smile played across her lips.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Spectacular match, and a spectacular scoreboard!**

 **Sabertooth: 36**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 35**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 31**

 **Fairy Tail A: 30**

 **Mermaid Heel: 24**

 **Fairy Tail B: 27**

 **Blue Pegasus: 21**

 **Lamia Scale: 23**

 **Peace!**

-[CoT]-

"Good show, Phoenix's Eye. Good show. I do _so sincerely_ hope you win," a cloaked figure in the crowd murmured as Grace left the arena and Chapati announced the fourth and final match, Wendy vs. Sherria.

A wicked smile shone out from under the hood. "So sayeth the Assassin,"


	37. Smoke On The Horizon

Chapter 107: Smoke On The Horizon

That night, on the third day of the Grand Magic Games, Kynigós and Arcadios sat in a seedy little hole-in-the-wall bar that Arcadios liked to frequent for some peace and quiet. Each was nursing a tankard of ale, and Kynigós flopped against the wall, moaning; "Ah, it's been so long since I could get drunk!"

Arcadios inspected the young man curiously. "You're a soldier," he commented.

"What? No, I'm not. I'm a hunter," the blond boy huffed.

The knight chuckled. "What do you think it means, to be a soldier?" he asked.

Kynigós paused. "Well . . I dunno. To follow orders, to fight?"

"That's not it at all," Arcadios rebutted. "A soldier is someone who protects what's dear to him. Who takes up arms to fight so that his home, his family, will be safe," he explained. "A soldier is someone who carries the memories of what he treasures in his heart and draws courage from them. Who'll do anything he has to if he thinks it'll protect what's in his heart,"

Kynigós paused. "Did you say . . something that he treasures?" he raised an eyebrow, suddenly remembering someone else who had said the same thing to him. _"If you ever find something that you treasure, hold it close and never let anyone take it away. Because every pirate needs something to treasure,"_

"That's what a soldier needs, isn't it? Or else, what is he fighting for?" Arcadios shrugged.

Kynigós chuckled, deep and throaty. "Sorry, you just reminded me of someone I used to know," he muttered, thinking of Bellamy.

"Oh?" Arcadios settled down, a smile tugging at his lips. "Tell me about him,"

The hunter snorted. "Alright. But first," A wan smile crossed his face. "Have you ever heard the legend of the One Piece?"

-[CoT]-

"Welcome, everybody, to the fourth, penultimate day of the X791 Grand Magic Games!" Chapati roared.

"Y'now, I really like these Games," Tyria offered to the members of Team Pierce.

"What makes you say that?" Hare scoffed. After the beating that Grace had taken, everyone had agreed that she deserved the day off. So - much to her chagrin - reserve team member Hare had been drafted into active participation for the day.

"It's a good chance to let off some steam without worrying about the stakes. For once, the world's not gonna end if we lose. We won't die if we lose. This is just fun and games," Tyria sighed in relief.

Pierce briefly thought back to how satisfying it had been to hit Natsu Dragneel two days ago. "Can't argue with you there," he agreed.

"Now, I think it's about time that we introduce our guest for today's proceedings!" Chapati declared, and everyone looked up at the guest seat, which was currently unoccupied.

A large, hulking figure suddenly appeared behind the two regular commentators. "Hey. This is the place, right?" a dry, unamused voice questioned.

"Indeed it is!" Chapati's upbeat voice was sharply at odds with the tone of the newcomer. "Please give a warm welcome to an emissary from the World Government's Marine peacekeepers, here on official diplomatic business! Everybody say hello to Vice-Admiral Smoker!"

Down in the Black Eye Pirates Bay, Kenzie, who had made a full recovery from yesterday's match with Wendy's help, paled. "I've got to get out of here," she blanched. A quick glance over at the Phoenix's Eye box showed that Lance and Shelley were already making their excuses and ducking out

The tall man with spiky white hair puffed on the twin cigars clenched between his lips. "It's a pleasure and blah blah blah," he declared, his white coat falling around the armrests of his chair as he sat down, heedless of the smoke that rapidly filled the box.

"Who is that guy?" Masquerade questioned.

"He's a Marine vice-admiral," Kenzie hissed. "That's the third highest position someone can achieve in the World Government's navy, second only to the three admirals and the Marine Fleet Commander. And I'm certain he's earned that position,"

"You mean, the people who have a bounty on your head?" Artorias checked.

"Tell Master that Eve will have to cover for me today," Kenzie instructed as she swung open the door at the back of their bay. "See you all later!"

The four wizards blinked as she vanished. "I guess there's a downside to having a wanted criminal on the team," Lync shrugged as he stood up and made for the door. "Well, I'll go get Eve,"

"Now, how about we take a look at the scoreboard?" Chapati suggested, and the leaderboard obligingly appeared as a massive projection in the centre of the arena. "Unsurprisingly, in first place is the guild everyone loves, Sabretooth with 36 points! But I don't think anyone expected a set of strong contenders to match them at every turn, and they're right here in second place, Phoenix's Eye Team B, or, rather, Team Black Eye Pirates!"

"Team _what_?" Smoker thundered. Suddenly, his entire body burst into smoke and he threw himself from the desk, seeping through the cracks in the box's windows and flying down to the arena floor with a cloudy trail and hitting the ground with a smoggy shockwave. Every eye watched him go.

"What's with his body? It's like he's made of smoke," Tyria murmured in shock. Sarph raised an eyebrow. "It is. He's a Logia Type Devil Fruit user. Logia types are transformed such that their bodies are made of the substance associated with the fruit. Whether that's fire, stone, or even smoke,"

The door swung open and Lync emerged, dragging Eve behind him, barely a second before Smoker span and looked over the contents of the bay with hostile suspicion.

Artorias and Masquerade each stepped forwards, Sif crouched between them and growling. Behind them, Donna, Lync and Eve watched, the tension palpable.

Smoker's lips twitched as he counted, then checked again. No sign of the black hair with a central red stripe that adorned Black "The Succubus" Kenzie's 150,000-berrie head. Still, he recognised the team name . . "The lot of you wouldn't happen to know Black The Succubus, would you?"

With a perfectly straight face, Artorias replied; "I can honestly tell you that I do not know anyone named 'Succubus',"

Smoker quirked an eyebrow, but nodded. "Fair enough," With that, a burst of smoke propelled him back into the commentator's booth, where he immediately began to fill it with smoke once more.

"Um," Donna diplomatically began, but Artorias turned to her with a tight smile. "I told the truth. Kenzie's name, after all, is not 'Succubus'. It's just her title," Lync smirked at this. "I like the way you think,"

"Now, if that's quite -" Chapati's sentence was broken by a cough. "- over with, it's time to announce to-" he coughed again, choking on the cigar smoke - "-day's event! We like to call it -" another cough interrupted his sentence, and Chapati wheeled to glare at Smoker. "Would you please quit it with the cigars?"

"No," the man grunted.

"Can someone get me a fan, please?" the announcer questioned.

"Could someone get me a gas mask?" Yajima added.

Smoker huffed, before lunging forwards and shattering the glass into fragments, letting his smoke waft outwards into the sky and out of his fellows' faces. "There. Now get on with it," he huffed.

"Why did this man get approved for this position?" the wig-wearing spokesperson whispered to Yajima, who just shrugged.

"As I was saying. Today's event is a tasty piece that the folks at the game design team have called 'Naval Battle'!" he excitably exclaimed.

Kenzie was just barely out of range of the speakers when she heard this, and silently cursed. "That would have been the perfect event for me,"

Back on the team that she had just left, everyone exchanged glances. Lync, Artorias, and Masquerade had all competed on previous days. That left Donna and substitute member Eve . . but Donna had engaged in a battle in the first day, which meant she was less likely to be picked for the battles in the afternoon. "I'll go in this time," the Celestial bluenette offered.

Seeing that her fellow Celestial Wizard was entering the arena, Lucy strode forwards from her team. "It's my turn!" she declared.

Donna stiffened, seeing that Minerva was emerging from the Sabretooth bay. She glared with menace at the woman who had hurt her teammate on the previous day.

While the other teams sent in Juvia, Jenny and Risley, Jashie stepped forwards in Lamia Scale. "It's about time I had a turn," she declared. No one complained, so she went forwards.

This only left Phoenix's Eye A to pick a participant.

"No," Hare grunted.

"Well, I can't go. My machinery won't work properly underwater," Tyria pointed out.

"Have you tried talking underwater?" Boomer questioned, before patting his boombox. "Imagine that, but a hundred times more useless,"

"What about you two?" Hare gestured at Sarph and Pierce.

"We've both already competed. It wouldn't be fair," Pierce pointed out.

"Perhaps more to the point, the other teams know what we can do. But they don't know your abilities. You're the most strategic choice," Sarph pointed out.

Hare huffed, but accepted this argument. "Hmph. Fine. I'll go. But first," She reaches under the bench and produced a familiar-looking harness, strapping it on over her robes. Her teammates' eyes widened. "Is that . ." Pierce started, and Hare nodded. "I'm going into this with an advantage,"

"Now, let's get everyone dressed appropriately!" There was a poof of smoke, which enveloped the eight women in the centre of the arena. When it cleared, the clothes of each had been replaced with scanty, two-piece swimsuits.

Smoker and Yajima's eyebrows each slowly rose until they were a solid two inches above their eyes.

Donna screamed. "Wha - wha - where's my hat? And my robes?" she demanded, spinning around frantically, before spotting her clothes collected neatly back in the bay. She sprinted back and hastily reclaimed her Alfheimic sailor's hat and billowy white coat, which she shrugged on like a cloak around her shoulders, before nervously rejoining the other seven participants.

"What a prude!" Cana shouted from Fairy Tail B. "You know those are just going to get wet, right?" Lucy more reasonably offered.

"I'm sure there's a dry cleaner's somewhere in Crocus," Donna shrugged it off.

"Now, let's set up the arena!" Chapati declared, and a massive sphere of water erupted from the ground, sweeping up the eight combatants.

-[CoT]-

From a nearby bar, Kenzie watched the events. Even if it was too risky for her to be present, she still wanted to know what was going on. She rolled her eyes at Donna's prudishness, and chuckled when Cana called her out on it. "Hear, hear!" she declared, to some small cheers from the men in the pub with her. The pirate sipped at a mug of ale, resigning herself to a long, quiet day watching her teammates fight. Damn Smoker. How the hell had he tracked her and her crew here? Sure, she'd been all over the lacrima-vision for the last couple of days, but it should take more time than that for Marine forces to get from the Grand Line to Crocus.

Looking at the eight women in swimsuits, she sighed, realising her earlier assessment had been off. "I get it now. It's not 'Naval Battle', it's 'Navel Battle'," More to the point, being submerged in salt water would be a real problem for a Devil Fruit eater like herself.

Kenzie's musings were brought to a screeching halt when the door to the pub swung open and heavy footsteps strode in. She quickly turned away and used a mirror hung behind the bar to catch a glimpse of the newcomer.

Her fears were confirmed; the entrant was a woman with prim black hair, wearing red glasses and a pink coat with a Marine's signature golden epaulets over a dark red V-neck, with the hilt of a sword protruding from her coat. In her wake trailed half a dozen Marine soldiers - whom Kenzie noticed were above average in terms of brawn compared to most Marines she'd seen.

'Smoker,' she wracked her brains for the name. He was a Marine, obviously, and a Vice-Admiral - Chapati had mentioned that. He was in charge of one of the branches of the Marines, she thought . . daring to peer out of the corner of her vision as the female Captain advanced, she caught a tag on the uniform of one of her backups. 'G-5'. _Now_ she remembered.

G-5 was widely considered the 'problem child' of the World Government's navy. Out of every ten soldiers in G-5, nine would have been demoted from one of the other branches of the Navy for bad conduct. G-5 had a reputation for being unruly, undisciplined, and for causing unnecessary collateral damage. She remembered reading that Smoker, a rising star in the Marine forces, had been transferred to G-5 by his superiors in hopes that he would be able to instil some discipline into them (and, some suspected, to diminish the risk that he would snap up the promotions and bonuses his competitors were eyeing up) . . and he had convinced his superiors to transfer his trusted second-in-command, Captain Tashigi, with him.

Kenzie felt it was a reasonable assumption to make to believe that this woman currently poking her in the back was the same Tashigi whom Smoker trusted so much.

"Oi, you. Show me your face," the Marine commanded.

Slowly, Kenzie stood up and licked her lips. "Y'now, it's a real shame that a pretty face like yours," In a flash she elbowed Tashigi's chest, knocking her a foot away before springing upwards, twisting and landing on the table. "Has that ugly jacket around it,"

Tashigi stepped back and peered at her in a mix of curiosity and irritation. "Who are you and what's wrong with my jacket?"

Kenzie blinked, confused, but her men chimed in. "Tashigi-chan, put your glasses on! It's her, Black the Succubus!"

Tashigi obligingly produced a slim pair of reading glasses and slipped them over her nose, before looking back at Kenzie. She gasped, realising who she was looking at, and stepped back. As Kenzie rolled her eyes - _weren't Marines supposed to be professional?_ \- every patron in the bar inched away. "You are under arrest!" she declared, doing her best to sound authoritative. "Surrender peacefully and I won't have to -

"Be humiliated?" Kenzie cheekily asked. "As much as I'd love to fight, I'd rather not wreck this bar. So, with that said . . bye!" A plume of shadows erupted around her feet, launching her into the air.

Tashigi and the Marines watched her blast a hole in the ceiling. "She's on the roof! We need to get up there!" she shrieked.

"I saw a fire escape next door?" one of her soldiers offered, and Tashigi smiled at him. "Good work. Show me,"

-[CoT]-

Back in Domus Flau, the eight women competing were adjusting to the situation. Juvia looked ecstatic.

"Now, here's the rules! It's basically your standard 'ring out' game, last one still in the water wins it for their team! But be warned, there's a special rule in place this round!" Chapati declared. "Once there are only two people left in the arena, a five-minute timer will start. And if either of the final two competitors are knocked out in those five minutes, they'll be considered as having placed last and will earn zero points for their team!" he explained.

Everyone blanched at this. "High stakes," Risley observed, concerned.

"Well, if everyone's ready . . let's begin!" Chapati declared.

Immediately, Hare clapped a hand to her stomach and chanted, words made of light popping info existence around her. "Futto mezakke vayezuli plorthul shippura dweren!" Instantly, she flickered and faded out of the visible spectrum.

"She can turn invisible?" Risley exclaimed, shocked.

"That's fine. Alfheimic magic has time limits," Minerva shrugged.

"Real nice," Donna rolled her eyes, before producing a Silver Key. Neither Mars nor Hades could fight well underwater (if only she owned the Crystal Key of the Sea Deity Neptune), but her two Celestial Deities weren't her only Keys. "Open, Gate of the Dolphin! Delphinus!" The familiar doorbell sounded, and a new spirit materialised.

The newcomer was clad in a black wetsuit with blue stripes on the arms and legs. She had sea green hair and twinkling grey eyes, wielding a purple plastic hoop with yellow stripes. She beamed, raising her hoop and declaring; "Showy morning, ladies and gentlemen! My showy friends and I are here to put on a wonderful showy performance for you today!"

"I can do you one better. Open, Gate of the Water Bearer!" Lucy commanded, pulling her own golden Key. "Aquarius!"

Donna blinked. "Is that the Zodiac spirit who's renowned for her bad temper?"

The two female Celestial Spirits eyed each other up. "Showy morning, old friend! What say we put on a showy performance today?" Delphinus questioned with a winning smile.

Aquarius raised a haughty eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

Delphinus melodramatically clutched at her heart. "Oh, you wound me!"

Meanwhile, Juvia eyed Aquarius warily and gulped. "I can't let her survive. Water Cyclone!" she burst out, launching a wide-burst attack that stirred up the water and sent everyone flying.

Donna shrieked, but her Spirit had her covered. She span her hoop and a dolphin made of pale blue energy swam out, darting through the water and catching the witch as her cloak billowed around her, soaking up water and hampering her movements.

Meanwhile, Jenny took advantage, targeting Risley, who turned and tried to counter. But she was too slow, and the chubby witch found herself out of the arena.

"And Mermaid Heel loses out! What a shame, but things are heating up in the water!" Chapati narrated.

Jashie floated before Minerva, and the two black-haired women locked eyes. "We should probably fight," Minerva suggested, and Jashie shrugged. "I'm fine with letting the others thin each other out if you are,"

A smile tugged at Minerva's lips, and she nodded, continuing to float.

Meanwhile, Aquarius and Juvia were locked in nautical combat, each matching the other blow for blow, while Delphinus span her hoop frantically, projecting a watery shield to keep her master in the game. "First Act: Showy Shield!"

"I'm almost enjoying this," Aquarius purred during a brief pause.

"Likewise, but I won't allow you to defeat me," Juvia retorted, and the Spirit pursed her lips. "That's fine," she declared, before turning to Lucy with a callous smirk. "I have to go meet my boyfriend for a date, anyway. You'll have to finish up without me. By-eee," And with that the mermaid vanished.

"And apparently Aquarius has better things to do, leaving Lucy high and dry!" Chapati narrated to the fuming blonde witch.

"Delph, take her out before she summons someone else!" Donna instructed, and Delphinus nodded and held up her hoop, declaring; "Second Act: Showy Dolphins!"

A pod of magical dolphins raced out of her hoop, darting in every direction with chaotic strikes.

Lucy shrieked. "Open, Gate of the Ram! Aries!" she commanded, and the sheep-like Spirit appeared before her. "Sorry!" Aries shrieked, throwing fluffy pink wool in every direction, which absorbed the dolphins directed at Lucy. "Don't be sorry, be showy!" Delphinus corrected her.

"Whoa! I can't even see what's happening!" Chapati explained, and Smoker shrugged. "The dolphins just hit the stripper girl,"

"How can you tell?" Yajima asked, but a second later, Jenny burst out of the bubble and went down.

Jashie and Minerva both looked down, and, noticing that the other witch was distracted, Jashie smirked, building a pulse of negative energy on her right foot. "Nega-Force!" With a twist, she kicked out and caught Minerva in the chest.

Of course, the Sabretooth could have blocked it, but why bother? After all, it wasn't like -

That was the point at which Minerva realised she was suddenly outside the bubble. Somehow, the strike had generated enough recoil to knock her clean out of the arena.

Holding herself in mid-air, she span and glowered at Jashie, who smirked and waved. "Yeah, I lied. I'm surprised you fell for it," she winked, before swimming away.

Minerva growled, silently swearing revenge, and sunk to the ground as Chapati declared; "And a surprise attack from Jashie sends Minerva out of the running!"

Aries' protective barrier of sodden wool encapsulated Lucy and Hare was nowhere to be seen. This left Juvia, Donna and Jashie eyeing each other up.

Characteristically, Jashie spoke up. "You know, I should thank you," she addressed Juvia, who raised an eyebrow. "If it weren't for you and that Gajeel chump joining Fairy Tail, Laxus never would have gone crazy and me and my brother never would have been kicked out of Phoenix's Eye and joined Lamia Scale,"

". . . I don't really understand your logic, but I suppose you're welcome," Juvia responded.

Jashie's smile turned into a wicked sneer. "That's fine. Allow me to express my gratitude. Nega-Nova!" she roared, launching a maelstrom of negative energy at Juvia. Juvia weaved, trying to avoid it, but the wide-burst attack was too far-reaching.

With a burst of lightning-like energy, Julia was expelled from the water. "And Fairy Tail B takes fifth place! What a shame," Chapati observed.

This left Jashie and Donna facing each other. "So, who's first?" Donna questioned, eyeing her opponent.

Suddenly Jashie flung up a hand and struck an invisible object. "I may not be able to see you. But I can use my other senses," she hissed at the unseen Hare, whose eyes widened.

With a flourish, the Lamia flung Hare away, hoping to quickly eliminate her. But Hare had learned from Minerva's loss, and she tugged on her harness. With a flash, green, fairy-like wings materialised on her back from her Alfheimic flight harness, blurring into motion and catching her before she could hit the edge. "Nice try, but no enchilada," She took a deep breath. "Futto famudro-" The words caught in her throat and she choked, feeling her magic circuits lock up. Hare silently screamed. She still couldn't do Majutsugo above fifth magnitude. And the spell she needed right now, Aeroblade - _zhukaru_ \- only worked with sixth-magnitude or higher.

And another flaw with Majutsugo was that trying to use a spell of any one magnitude would, for a few seconds, lock her out of any spells of equal or lower magnitude. Her failed attempt to use a sixth-magnitude spell had just locked her out of all of the fifth-magnitude or lower spells she could muster. Normally, this would mean Jashie had an opening, but luckily for Hare she was still Transparent - _why was Jashie swimming right towards her?_

Hare made to dodge, but Jashie was locked onto her, effortlessly correcting and striking with a negatively-charged double punch, simultaneously hitting Hare's sternum and shoulder. The recoil knocked her to the surface, her wings blurring in an attempt to catch herself. But it was fruitless, and she broke the surface, gasping for air.

"And Phoenix's Eye A takes fourth! What a pity, but let's see how the three remaining teams are doing! Remember, we need one more elimination, then the five-minute rul-"

"You talk too much. They know what's going on. Let them watch," Smoker growled, and Chapati nervously nodded. "Shutting up,"

As Hare flew out of the water and back to the ground, Lucy peered out from her protective barricade of fluffy pink wool. "Okay, we'll let them duke it out then take on the winner," she whispered to Aries, who nodded.

At the back of the crowd, a hooded figure dressed all in black smirked, pulling out a rifle. "This is an unfavourable matchup for you, Mordonna. Let me help you out," he murmured, taking careful aim at the cloud of wool.

A gunshot rang out.

Aries' breath caught in her throat, and Lucy turned to eye her Spirit. "Aries, are you -" Her eyes widened at the bloody gunshot wound that had blossomed on Aries' collar. "What the -"

"I'm . . sorry," Aries choked before vanishing in a flash of light.

"What the -" Lucy spluttered in disbelief, looking around for the source of the attack as the bunker of wool disintegrated around her.

"It seems that Lucy Heartfilia has run out of magic for her Spirit!" Chapati narrated. "Pity, though I suppose maintaining that barrier must have taken its toll," Yajima agreed.

"What - that's not -" Lucy spluttered, but before she could formulate a coherent argument, Jashie struck, a black-energy-infused kick aimed directly at her waist that knocked her back towards the edge of the bubble.

But in a flash of light another body caught her, and Lucy found Virgo, clad in a swimsuit, with her chains at the ready. "I'm here to help, princess," the pinkette narrated.

"That's great, but . . isn't a spirit with the power to dig tunnels a bit useless in open water?" Lucy protested.

"I had thought there was a theme of women in swimsuits. That's what Big Brother told me," Virgo shamelessly replied. Her mistress just facepalmed. "I am going to have words with Loke," she growled.

"Third Act!" Delphinus took the initiative. "Showyrangs!" She threw her hoop into the . . water, where it spat out a series of rings of water that shot in every direction, mostly aimed towards Virgo and Jashie. Bobbing and weaving, the Lamia dodged each one, while Virgo deflected as many as she could.

But Jashie knew an opening when she saw one. With a grin, she spread her arms and cast; "Nega-Nova!"

The blindside struck Lucy side on, moving too quickly for Virgo to take the hit. Lucy screamed in shock and pain as she was blasted backwards, soon breaking the bubble and being sent flying out to the arena floor.

"And with a stunning blindside from Jashie, Fairy Tail A takes third place! And now, the five minute rule is in effect! Can Jashie and Donna survive the next five minutes?" Chapati questioned.

"Shouldn't be too tough. I sure could," Smoker grunted.

"Delphinus. Go on the offensive," Donna instructed. Her Spirit nodded confirmation and dashed forwards.

Jashie sneered. "I have no patience for members of Phoenix's Eye. Nega-Tana!" she cast, materialising a crackling blade of black energy. "Eat this!" she roared, charging at Donna.

Delphinus blocked with her hoop - but the black sword cut straight through it. Building a charge of magic in her left hand, Jashie struck the Spirit in her chest, knocking her backwards, before charging forwards, targeting Donna again.

Realising she had little choice, Donna withdrew a Key - but Jashie knocked it from her hand, spinning and unleashing a roundhouse kick that -

In a flash of light a steel tower shield blocked the blow. Donna gasped. "Mars?!"

"Reporting for duty," the warrior Spirit saluted, bracing his shield against Jashie's onslaught. The rounded barrier moved slowly in the water, but with Mars' strength behind it he powered through the opposition and moved it to block every blow Jashie threw.

And then Delphinus was attacking from behind, screaming and twirling like a dervish, preparing to strike Jashie with her ring.

"Nega-Lectron!" A whirling barrier of spinning orbs of negative magic erupted from Jashie, knocking all three of them away.

"Where did you come from?" Donna asked Mars, who declared; "I came under my own power. You needed help,"

"You can do that?" Donna questioned, and Mars bashfully shrugged. "Never had a reason to until now,"

Jashie charged towards them, hoping that her swirling orbs of magic would force them backwards. Mars held up his tower shield, and the projectiles bounced off it, before settling back into their orbit for another go around. The constant onslaught had him sweating under the strain.

"Final Act! Thousand Showy Hoops!" The three looked up to see Delphinus above Jashie, wielding a hoop that seemed to be glowing with Celestial light and splitting into a thousand blurred hoops. "You can move in three showy dimensions underwater, bitch!" she shrieked, before launching her hoops downwards, targeting Jashie.

In response, Jashie flung her arm up and twisted her magical orbit, sending it flying upwards to intercept and strike at Delphinus. Without the endurance of Mars, the onslaught rapidly tore through the Spirit. "See you at my next performance, folks! Showy to let you down, Mistress!" Delphinus mustered, before disappearing.

Donna blanched, and Jashie grinned, turning her attention back to her opponent. "Time to wrap this up. Nega-Net!" she shrieked, throwing a net of negative magic at the two of them.

Mars raised his shield, but the net was too large, hitting him and wrapping around them both. Donna squealed as the stinging magic met her skin, and shivered as Jashie swam above them and smirked at her incapacitated prey. "It's over," With a shove, she pushed them towards the bottom, and Donna was helpless to stop it as she and Mars broke the surface and hit the ground beneath.

"What a pity. After a strong and showy effort, Donna falls short!" Chapati declared.

Pausing, the Celestial witch turned to look at the scoreboard.

Ten-foot blinking letters read **4:34**. She had missed out on the five-minute rule by twenty-six seconds.

The Black Eye Pirates banner slowly slid from the top of the leaderboard to the bottom. Donna had earned zero points.

"And it's a pity that our top contenders ran afoul of the Five-Minute Rule, but that's the rules," Chapati narrated.

Donna could only pound the ground in frustration.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Sabertooth: 39**

 **Fairy Tail A: 38**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 37**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 35**

 **Lamia Scale: 33**

 **Fairy Tail B: 31**

 **Mermaid Heel: 25**

 **Blue Pegasus: 23**

 **Fun chapter, am I right?**

 **Also, let's give a warm welcome to our latest crossover characters, Vice-Admiral Smoker and Captain Tashigi, from One Piece! They'll be around for a couple of chapters. I'm excited to work with them! Peace!**


	38. The Assassin Strikes

Chapter 108: The Assassin Strikes

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _With a flurry of feathers, the Divine Caladrius flapped down to Eve's level and stared her in the eyes. "Eve, listen to me. Those feathers are stepping stones on the path to gaining your own strength. I did not give them to you with the intention of supplanting your own power with mine. You need to discover what makes you strong, on your own," she calmly explained, somehow seeming reproachful and yet encouraging while still keeping her eyes closed._

 _-[CoT]-_

Outside, Kenzie crouched on the roof, looking down as the soldiers surged into an alleyway and up the metal fire escape. A gunshot rang out and she jerked back, realising that some of the soldiers had stayed on the ground to fire at her.

"Gotta move," she growled, before quickly bursting out in dark grey fur with her typical red stripe. Now in full wolf form, she took off across the roof in the opposite direction to the Marines pursuing her, taking a flying leap across the next alleyway and balancing on padded paws along a shilled slope.

Tashigi finally reached the top of the roof, just in time to see Kenzie's tail disappear behind a chimney. "After her!" she roared, launching herself from the fire escape, twisting in mid-air and catching the edge of the roof with her hands, before flipping upwards on her wrists and throwing herself onto her feet, to much applause from her soldiers. "Way to go, Captain-chan!" they cheered, until she glared down at them and roared; "Shut up and follow me!" before whirling and pursuing Kenzie.

In a flash of light, Tashigi unsheathed the sword hanging at her hip and launched herself forward, striking at Kenzie's back. But the wolf pirate was too fast, and she leapt clear, sliding along the sun-bleached tiles and spinning to face her, shifting back into her hybrid form. "Shadowmake: Claws!" she declared, creating long, needle-like protrusions from her hands and lashing out with them. Tashigi pressed forward to match her, resolutely slashing forward and the two strikes met.

White overpowered black, and the Marine cut through the pirate's claws. Only a hasty transformation saved Kenzie from losing her head - and then she was off, on all fours again and flying across the road, twisting in mid-air to avoid bullets from the half of Tashigi's forces that were still on the ground, and landing on the roof on the far side of the street.

Tashigi grimaced, knowing she couldn't make that jump. "Fuck!"

-[CoT]-

"I hope everyone had a good lunch, because it's now time for the Battles portion of Day 4!" Chapati declared, but Smoker coughed. "Two versus two matches. We all heard already. Get on with it,"

". . Fair enough," Chapati agreed. "Our first matchup of the day is going to pit -" He choked on his own hyperbole, seeing Smoker's annoyed glare. "It's Blue Pegasus' Ichiya and . . whoever the guy in the bunny suit is, versus Fairy Tail A's Grey Fullbuster and Lucy Heartfilia!"

 _"Noooooooooooooooo!"_ All noise was drowned out by a frenzied wail, and everyone stopped to see a bawling Juvia run out of Fairy Tail B's changing rooms. "You must not make Gray-sama and Love Rival a couple! Gray-sama must only be in a couple with me!"

"Uh . ." Chapati looked confused.

"Eh, sure, whatever," Smoker declared.

"But they're on different -" Yajima was promptly interrupted. "Tell the game design team that the whiny girl is on Team A . . . I dunno, the boy with pink hair is now on Team B, and the matchup is colour boy and whiny girl,"

"You know, technically grey is a shade, not a colour," Mr. Yajima observed, unmoved by Smoker's intimidating presence.

"Yes! Juvia screamed, bursting out onto the field and all but shoving Lucy away from Gray.

"Natsu. I believe that Mr. Smoker said you are now on the other team," Erza pointed out.

"What? But I don't wanna be on a team with stupid Ga-" Natsu was cut off by Erza's glower. "Okay I'm gonna go meet my best friend Gajeel!" he squeaked and scampered away.

The two wizards from Blue Pegasus cautiously entered the field. Gray smirked an evil smirk. "You two are so hosed,"

-[CoT]-

While Gray and Juvia made short work of Blue Pegasus, Kynigós had finally had an opportunity to meet with Princess Hisui again.

"We really need to find a better place for you to drop in on me than my chambers," Hisui exasperatedly pointed out as Kynigós emerged from the door that led to the attic where Zena had been cooped up for the last couple of days.

There was a thump and a pearly-scaled form appeared behind him. "Primcess!" Zena excitedly declared, dashing past her brother and tackling the princess.

Hisui chuckled, sinking back onto her bed. "Hello, Zena," she replied, finding the soft spots near her horns that Kynigós had shown her and rubbing them, causing the dragonet to coo in pleasure.

"Long story short, the guy who I thought is King Mystogan is actually this world's equivalent of him, this criminal guy named Jellal Fernandez," Kynigós explained, and Hisui sat bolt upright. "Jellal Fernandez?!" she exclaimed.

"You know him?" Kynigós checked.

Hisui nodded. "By reputation. He used to be a well-known dark wizard who worshipped the legendary black mage Zeref and was trying to bring him back to life. But he reformed six years ago and has been leading an independent guild called Crime Sorciere since. I can't believe he's involved in this as well,"

"He ran off when your man Arcadios came to find me," the hunter explained. "Which I guess makes sense, he probably thought Arcadios would arrest him,"

The greenette nodded, considering this. "Either way, I hope it won't matter. I've had the soldiers adjust the direction of the Eclipse Gate. Once we bring it to the surface, it should be pointed directly at the moon,"

"Good," Kynigós nodded. "Now, we just have to hope that Ryos' Eclipse Two plan works -" He paused as a thought struck him. "Has Ryos contacted you?" Zena growled at the name.

"Not since I met you," Hisui shook her head. "I'm sorry,"

"You have nothing to apologise for," Kynigós growled. "Not like him,"

Hisui stood and faced him. "You're going to kill him," It was a statement.

"He deserves it," the blond gritted his teeth, remembering Asuka's expression as she lay dying. He clenched his fists, remembering how it felt when her Vivre Card crumbled to ash. "He's gonna pay,"

"Because he killed your friend?"

Kynigós paused, noticing the disapproving expression on Hisui's face. "Well what else am I supposed to do? Forgive and forget?" he spat. "What if it had been Arcadios who he'd stabbed? What would you do then?"

Hisui faltered, her protests for the sanctity of life dying on her lips. ". . you're right," she finally admitted.

"Besides, I'm not a _monster_. I'm not going to imprison and torture him or anything," Kynigós assured her. Not this time, at least. "But I won't let him hurt anyone else," As he repeated this, he cast a protective look at Zena, instinctively stepping closer to her.

The princess nodded. "You're right . . I don't like to admit it, but you're right. Some people just have to die. After all, that's why we created the Eclipse Gate, isn't it? To kill Zeref,"

Kynigós shrugged. "I don't know this Zeref guy, but if it's worth going back in time just to destroy his legacy, then,"

"The Dark Mage Zeref is the most evil wizard in all of history. To undo the evils he and his following have wrought in this world . . it's a chance we cannot pass up," Hisui gravely informed him.

Zena curiously cocked her head, and the Hunter raised his eyebrows, pulling up the chair at her dressing table and taking a seat. "Tell me more,"

-[CoT]-

"And Gray and Juvia earn ten points for Fairy Tail A!" Chapati declared as the admittedly-short battle reached a conclusive climax. After Bunny Suit had, in fact, been revealed to be Nichiya, a strange, Exceed version of Ichiya who was completely incompetent in combat, Ichiya's best efforts had simply been unable to trump Gray and Juvia's combined magic.

"Moving right along, it's time for the second doubles matchup of the day! Next, we're going to see Mermaid Heel's Kagura and Milliana, facing off against Black Eye Pirates' Eve Tangelia and the mysterious Masquerade!"

In the crowd, a white-cloaked figure whose only visible feature was a blond beard raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Perfect,"

The two pairs of wizards both entered, Kagura's eyes immediately meeting Masquerade's fang-shaped glasses. As Eve and Milliana looked between their two stronger partners, everyone immediately realised that the fight would come down mostly to Kagura and Masquerade.

"Kagura, was it?" the Darkus Brawler called. "I don't like wasting my time with weak opponents. So how about you and I just hang back for a bit and let Eve and your cat girl there fight it out for a bit, then whoever wins gets to double team the other?"

Kagura raised an eyebrow, before eyeing the clearly nerve-wracked Eve. "Milliana. Can you defeat her?"

"You betcha!" the catgirl nodded enthusiastically.

"I accept your terms, then," Kagura agreed, stepping back. Masquerade did likewise.

"If everyone's ready, let's begin!" Chapati declared, and the twenty-minute timer started ticking.

Milliana, true to nature, stepped forward first. "This is gonna be the cat's meow!" she declared, lunging forwards and preparing to strike at Eve.

Eve reared back, gripping her wand nervously, and held it up in a defensive pose, the two remaining Caladrius feathers twitching in the slight breeze. Her eyes darted to the pockets of divine power, knowing she could take one and gain the power to defeat Milliana - but she shook her head and instead parried with the rod, recalling the Caladrius' words. She had spent the last three months building up her own strength. All that work was not going to waste.

As she knocked away Milliana's hand-strike, she whipped her wand around and cast; "Snowdrift!" A burst of snow erupted from the wand, enveloping the other brunette and burying her amidst the white powder. Eve took the chance to dance away and produced her Celestial Keyring as the catgirl dug her way out, selecting a key. "Open, Gate of the -"

"Bad Kitty Restriction!" A coiling tendril knocked the keyring from her hand, and Milliana smirked, before shivering. "Low blow! Cats hate the cold!" she hissed.

Eve ignored her and gulped, scrambling for her keys, but Milliana knew that allowing her opponent to reclaim the keys would spell trouble for her, so she pounced and grabbed the keys, holding them up tauntingly. "Nope. You don't get a toy,"

The Celestial wizard frowned, steeling her resolve, and lunged for the keys, throwing herself at Milliana with arms out and fingers outstretched. "Bad Kitty Restriction!" the catgirl cast, lashing her catspaw cord around Eve and coiling it around her waist. The Snow wizard, though, launched into a semi-controlled stumble, knocking Milliana to the ground and pinning her under her own weight, before reaching up and grabbing the keys. For a moment, both witches wrestled over the ring, until Eve managed to wrap her fingers around the first key that came to hand. "Open, Gate!" she shouted, not being quite able to identify the key she had purchase on.

There was a flash, a familiar doorbell, and a bearskin-clad huntress emerged. "Mistress?" Polaris questioned, seeing the two struggling wizards.

"Help!" Eve squeaked, and Polaris nodded, dashing forwards and wrapping her arms around Millianna's chest from behind, trying to bodily lift her off of her Mistress.

In response, the catgirl twisted her Restriction to speed around her and wrap around Polaris' arms, trying to pull them back to her sides. "Get off me!" she shrieked.

But Eve knew an opportunity when she saw one. "Close, Gate of the North Star!" she commanded, and Polaris vanished - and Millianna's Bad Kitty Restriction snapped taut, wrapping around the Mermaid's chest and locking them together.

"Astounding! Eve has used Millianna's own magic against her in a shocking means to tie!"

"Not so fast!" Millianna protested, preparing to dismiss her Spell, but Eve had another trick up her sleeve. "Snow Geyser!" she commanded, mounds of snow bursting from her pinned hands and enveloping them both.

The scantily clad catgirl shrieked in dismay as the freezing powder enveloped her naked skin. "COLD COLD COLD SO COLD!" she screamed, forgetting all reason in her instinctive efforts to escape the snow.

"Millianna! Snap out of it and focus!" Kagura commanded, but her voice went unheard.

Masquerade raised an eyebrow. Using Millianna's own animal instincts to trap her and force her to struggle herself into exhaustion. It was an impressive strategy.

Eve, however, had not intended any of this and was just generating as much snow as possible, pleased to have accidentally stumbled upon an apparent weakness of her opponent. And, as they were still bound together and Millianna was in no fit state to release herself, and Eve, of course, was unbothered by the cold, it only took a minute until Millianna had collapsed into a catatonic state, shivering madly from the cold.

"I won!" the Phoenix eagerly shouted, before realising that she was still trapped. "Um, maybe it's more of a tie,"

"You did well," Masquerade assured her, stepping up and locking eyes with Kagura. For her part, the swordswoman eyed her own reflection on the twin fang-like lenses that covered most of the boy's face. "I know who you are," the swordswoman hissed.

Masquerade cocked his head, inquisitive. "Do you?"

"The right hand man of Hal-G, one of the most legendary dark wizards of the age," Kagura frowned.

"Who betrayed him and ensured that his plans were foiled," Masquerade evenly replied, placing his hands behind his back and standing up straight.

"That doesn't change anything. You're still responsible for countless amounts of death and destruction," Kagura stared at him with loathing.

Masquerade paused, and dismissed the spell that he had been preparing behind his back. His smile drooped. "I suppose I am,"

A pencil-then eyebrow shot up. "You don't deny it?" the woman questioned.

"No. To do so would be an insult to the testimony of those whose suffering I have caused," the dark Brawler shook his head. "However . ."

But before he could finish the sentence, Kagura was leaping forwards like lightning and screaming; "Your very existence is an insult to those who you've made suffer!"

Masquerade had just enough time to wonder why she was attacking him with a sword that was still in its sheath before he leapt sideways, throwing his white cloak up and causing it to billow wildly. For a split second Kagura lost track of her enemy - and that was enough for Masquerade to deliver a knife-handed strike to her back, knocking her forwards.

Kagura didn't lose her balance, though, spinning and holding up Archemeny defensively, fully expecting an attack. But Masquerade just stood there, looking at her with an expression that was unreadable behind those massive blue lenses.

"If you truly regretted your past, you would let yourself die in recompense!" the dark-haired swordswoman roared, lunging at him again.

Masquerade danced sideways again, throwing out a foot and knocking Kagura's leg out from under her. She stumbled, but threw out a hand and, with a quick burst of Gravity magic, kept herself upright, spinning and taking guard again.

"That's terrible logic," Masquerade shook his head in dismay. Obviously, he couldn't just die, because of Alice, but Kagura had to have seen him transform on Day 2. She obviously either didn't understand that he and Alice were separate personas, or didn't care. "If I were to let myself die, that would render null and void all the good I could do with the remainder of my life,"

Kagura paused, eyeing him warily.

"I don't know what your grudge against me, or my ilk, is. But if there's one thing that _this_ has taught me," Masquerade reached into his pocket and produced what Kagura immediately recognised as a Doom Card - the cursed artefact that could banish the loser of a fight to the Doom Dimension. "It's that death is wasteful,"

"What's he got there?" Smoker questioned.

"I can't quite tell," Chapati frowned, squinting.

"I'm sure it doesn't matter," Yajima cut across them both.

"Wasteful?!" Kagura parroted in mounting fury, making to bring her sword up, but then she paused. "Wasteful," she repeated, turning the word over in her mind. "Wasteful,"

"I joined Phoenix's Eye to try to do right by the people who I've hurt. Because helping people is the best way I have of atoning for my mistakes. And, personally, I think it's a far better way than dying," Masquerade folded his arms, pocketing the Doom Card once more.

"Then why do you still carry that?" Kagura demanded.

"As a reminder of what I've overcome. But I haven't used it in years, and I don't plan to,"

"Very well then," the Mermaid nodded. "This has been . . informative, but we still have a fight to finish,"

"Ah, yes," Masquerade nodded, and opened his hands. Suddenly, dozens of tiny Amaterasu Formula seals shot out, expanding to full size and arranging themselves in a long tunnel. "Amaterasu Formula: Fifty-One!" The first seal in the chain ignited, sending a rush of power through the second seal, which amplified the charge. The third seal did the same, and so on, the series of magic circles each lending their power to a single pulse of magic until it had grown vast, and as Kagura brought her sword up to block, the last one exploded, finalising a chain reaction that blew past her guard and knocked her onto her back.

Masquerade strode forwards, ready for a counterattack. "And a surprise attack from Masquerade puts the match in his favour!"

"Which is exactly the opposite of how things should be," a voice growled quietly from the stands. No one heard, but the people in his immediate vicinity - those who noticed, at least - started and drew away as the white-clad man drew, from within his cloak, a rifle. "Piercer, let's take our revenge," he licked his lips.

Suddenly Kagura leapt up from the ground and brought Archenemy to bear, the sheathed sword glinting menacingly - and Masquerade's lips suddenly fell into a perfect 'o' as a crushing impact hit his chest, and he fell backwards, hands instinctively reaching for his chest.

Kagura stopped before she could land her blow, wondering what had hit her opponent.

And in the crowd, the white-clad man grinned and declared; "It's time for the game to end. So sayeth the Assassin,"

"Incredible! With a lightning-quick blow, Kagura has immediately taken out -"

"That's not what happened," Smoker interrupted, and Chapati turned and shot him s questioning glance. "Huh?"

"Were you even watching? Glasses boy just got shot by someone outside the arena," Smoker explained.

"What?!" A collective uproar came from the Phoenix's Eye bays. Similar expressions of outrage followed from the other bays and stands.

In the stands, Ariel sharply breathed in, recognising the cloak. "That's the creep who talks to his weapons! He's from Kairos End!"

"It appears that an outside party has intervened - huh?" Chapati was shocked as Smoker went off like a rocket, soaring across the arena in a wave of smoke and bringing up his jitte. The blunt weapon, which seemed to be made from perfectly cut stone, glinted with imperial authority.

"I'll get him!" Grace shouted, leaping into a rift and appearing above Aberforth's seat. But the white Assassin was already scrambling to escape, making for the exit and brandishing his rifle menacingly at the hastily-moving crowd. Grace spread her arms, preparing for a Spiral Slash -

And then Smoker landed.

Billowing white smoke burst outwards in every direction, engulfing Aberforth in an instant and spreading to cover the entire section of the stand.

Aberforth stiffened, looking around, but all was white . . and then a white-haired face loomed out of the fog before him, puffing on twin cigars. "I don't much like cheaters," Smoker growled, blowing smoke into Aberforth's face.

The Assassin raised his rifle and shot the Marine Vice-Admiral.

The bullet went straight through Smoker's cheek, which briefly formed into smoke before becoming solid once more. "They always try that," he huffed in mild amusement, before the living smoke enveloped Aberforth once more.

Then there was a sharp _crack_ , and everything went dark.

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, Kenzie had spent most of the day leading Tashigi and the Marines of G-5 on a wild goose chase across Crocus.

"Give it up, pirate!" the unrelenting swordswoman yelled as she pelted down an alley in pursuit of Kenzie, in human form once more. "You can't run forever!"

The fair-skinned Marine ducked a spinning sewer grate aimed at her head. "That's just . . rude!" she spluttered, continuing.

Ahead of her, Kenzie rounded a corner, only to come face to face with a burly pair of Marines blocking her route. "Nowhere to run, little doggie," they grinned sadistically.

Kenzie retreated, but found a katana levelled at her. "Surrender," Tashigi commanded.

The Phoenix looked back and forth, trying to find a way out of the predicament. There were no balconies or anything she could jump to. The roofs were too high. Her Shadowmake spells were useless . . if only she were a Logia type, she could pass straight through Tashigi's sword . . well, under it . . _under_!

A wicked smile played across the pirate's lips. "You came close. Full props," she winked at the pink Marine in faux respect. "But no enchilada!" And with that, she pressed her legs together, raised her arms and fell through the open sewer grate whose lid she had removed beforehand, landing with a splash.

Tashigi stared at the dark expanse furiously. "What are you waiting for? After her!" she commanded, sheathing her sword and putting a foot on the uppermost rung of the ladder Kenzie had just ignored.

For her part, though, the pirate was less enthused. "Not . . salt water," Kenzie moaned, feeling the oppressive underwater tide suck the strength from her bones and pull her along. It was all she could do to keep her head above the water as she was swept by the current through the sewer and towards the river.

Tashigi paused in the last rung of the ladder and smiled. "Water. We've got her now, boys. I hope you're both strong swimmers," With that, she rolled up her sleeves and dropped into the water, striking up a strong breaststroke to follow the current to her vulnerable quarry.

-[CoT]-

"So you know this guy?" Smoker asked Pierce.

"Yeah. He was with a dark guild called Kairos End when Phoenix's Eye fought them six years ago for control of Diamauros, our guild's sacred grounds," the Tamer, who had been selected, once more, as the de facto leader of Phoenix's Eye's rank and file, explained.

"So you don't think he was hired by one of the other teams to sabotage you?" the man checked, and Pierce shook his head. "It's possible, but I don't think so. He has a personal grudge against Masquer-"

"Oi, wait!" Both turned in surprise, to see Kit darting down the corridor towards them. The white vulpine yokai darted between their legs, and ignored Smoker's demand of "What in the world is that?" to jump through the bars and into the temporary holding cell that had been installed in Domus Flau in the event of cheaters. The cell currently held Aberforth, whose grip on his weapons had not slackened even in unconsciousness, and so he had been reluctantly locked up with his equipment.

"Is something wrong, Kit?" Pierce asked, before deciding to answer Smoker. "That's Kit, he's my yokai sidekick,"

"I know you can hear me. Come out right now," Kit growled at the unconscious former Kairos.

". . I'm pretty sure he's unconscious," Pierce pointed out.

"Not the human," Kit cast Pierce a disapproving look. "Come on, I'd have thought you'd recognise the signs enough from spending time with me,"

"What signs?" Smoker directly asked.

"That _this_ ," Kit grabbed Piercer, Aberforth's armour-penetrating rifle, and dragged it out onto the ground. "Is not a gun!" The yokai then dove into Aberforth's cloak, and withdrew a colourful crystal dagger. "Nor is this just a dagger," Kit then pulled out a staff from Aberforth's cloak, "or this a piece of wood, or this a mere sword," and a large scimitar joined the pile followed by a pistol. "And this is _also_ definitely not a gun!"

"Then what are they?" Smoker asked the obvious question.

"Well?" Kit faced the pile of objects, his red marks prominently on display to play up his fierceness. "What are you?"

The pile of weapons didn't respond.

"So, is he crazy or what?" the white-haired Marine skeptically asked Pierce.

"I am not crazy!" Kit snapped.

-[CoT]-

Masquerade woke with a start. "W-what happened? Where am I?"

"You got shot," Sensho informed him. The guild medic was standing over him, armed with a teapot.

"Remember Aberforth, from Kairos End?" Donna added, leaning over him. "He decided to take some revenge. With a bullet,"

"Well, joke's on him. I wear an armoured vest," Masquerade smirked, before pausing. "Wait. If I was only shot, why did I black out . . and why don't I feel hurt?"

"Because Aberforth's bullets are coated with ectoplasm. They phase through armour, but become solid when in contact with human flesh," Sarph, who was also nearby, pointed out grimly, remembering when he had been shot by that same gun in Diamauros.

Masquerade blinked, processing this. ". . Then why am I not dead? I didn't even change back to Alice!" he protested.

"Because of this," Sensho smiled, wielding a pair of tweezers and producing something that Masquerade immediately recognised. "My Doom Card?!" The card had a hole in the centre, which was leaking black sludge into a bowl that Sensho was holding underneath it.

"The bullet hit the card, and something about your card's extradimensional magic interfered with it. But the backlash of dark magic knocked you out," Sensho explained.

"So that thing saved my life?" Masquerade questioned in disbelief.

"It was a close thing," Donna looked pale at the thought. "Two inches in any direction and . ."

Masquerade cautiously sat up. "Good thing Aberforth is such a good shot, then," he dryly observed. "I'm guessing I lost,"

"Yes. The judges had no choice but to rule it a win for Mermaid Heel. But we've been allowed an intermission before the next match, which is gonna involve our Team A," Sarph had a tight smile at the thought, and Masquerqde paused for a second, before realising; Tyria, Grace and Boomer had all already fought in matches. While it was possible for a wizard to be put into a match twice, as Millianna had been, the odds were low . . which meant it was probably some combination of Pierce, Sarph and Hare going into the arena.

As if on cue, the intercom crackled to life. "As much as I'm sure everyone has enjoyed this intermission," Chapati coughed through the intercom, a cough that sounded suspiciously like the word 'not', before continuing; "it's time to get back to our regularly scheduled matchups! The third and penultimate match of the day is gonna pit predator against prey, bird against snake!"

In the corridor, Pierce raised an eyebrow. "We're pitting Phoenix Eye A's Pierce Blastreyne and Sarph!" The Tamer was startled for a second, but smiled. He'd prefer to fight with Tyria or Grace, but Sarph was probably the better fighter overall. He had a good feeling about this.

"Against Lamia Scale's Polarity Pair, Jashie and Eishaj Tron!"

Pierce blinked. The two wizards whose magic was literally designed to fight together . . and who had a personal grudge against Phoenix's Eye, specifically Sarph . . that good feeling was gone.

"Come on, kid, let's get to it," Smoker instructed.

"Alright," Pierce agreed. "Kit, you keep doing . . whatever with that pile of weapons. I've gotta go defend the guild's honour,"

"I am not crazy!" the yokai yelled.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Scoreboard update!**

 **Sabertooth: 39**

 **Fairy Tail A: 48**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 37**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 40**

 **Lamia Scale: 33**

 **Fairy Tail B: 41**

 **Mermaid Heel: 30**

 **Blue Pegasus: 23**

 **Just in case anyone's interested, there was a draft of this fight where Kagura stole the Doom Card and tried to use it on Masquerade. But I decided that she's not that unreasonable.**

 **Also, I think this might be the first recorded example in history of a Doom Card saving someone's life. Making history is fun! Peace!**

-[CoT]-

"So Zeref lived about four hundred years ago," Kynigós mused. Something about that fact seemed important, but he couldn't figure out what.

"That's right. Not that it matters now; the dragon invasion is more important," Hisui reminded the hunter.

"True," Kynigós mused.

Hisui cast a sidelong glance at him. "Have you considered what you'll do after?" she asked.

The hunter quirked an eyebrow. "After Saturday? Assuming we win? Hells, I don't know. Take care of Zena, survive. Maybe I'll join a guild . . not that any could be better than my Phoenix's Eye," he trailed off.

"Well . ." the greenette slowly began, and Kynigós eyed her. "Yeah?"

Hisui looked directly at him with a small smile. "Perhaps you two should stay here?"


	39. Neutralisation

Chapter 109: Neutralisation

Four pairs of eyes met across the arena. Four Phoenixes stared each other down, resolute and unwavering. Four hearts hardened.

"And if everyone's ready, the match between Jashie and Eishaj Tron, former champions of Phoenix's Eye and now front runners of Lamia Scale, and Pierce Blastreyne and Sarph, rising stars of current Phoenix's Eye, can now . . . BEGIN!"

"I'll go in first. My «Sword Skills» can deflect their attacks, and I'll take Jashie down before they can start combining spells. Cover me," Sarph whispered to Pierce, who nodded, trusting the superior strategist's advice. "Raya?" He tapped the flute in his hand, alerting his partner. "I'm counting on you for ranged attacks," The flute was unresponsive, but Pierce knew she'd be ready.

Sarph lunged, bringing his sword back, ready to deflect any ranged attacks either opponent could hit him with. He lanced towards Jashie, readying a devastating blow -

"Nega-Tana!" A crackling blade of negative energy appeared in Jashie's hands, and, holding it at both ends, she blocked the strike in a fluid motion.

Pierce spotted Eishaj turning to strike Sarph from behind, and with a musical shriek a gout of phoenix flame blocked Eishaj's path. The mute man raised an eyebrow in irritation.

"Nega-Force!" Jashie shouted, kicking Sarph in the crotch with a repulsive force of energy that shot him straight into the air. Sarph squeaked as his armoured underwear cracked and pain blossomed between his legs, his face screwing up in pain, but, upon realising he was falling, he summoned his Aera wings in a flash and catching himself in mid-air.

"Posi-teor!" In a sudden flash of white Positive magic, Eishaj rocketed through the firewall and struck Sarph head-on, sending him flying into the crowd (which just barely cleared a space for him) with a tumultuous crash. The impact left a crater in the stands, and Sarph was unmoving.

"Unbelieveable! A surprise attack has instantly knocked down Sarph, the toughest member of the group! Can Pierce hold out in a two-on-one fight?" Chapati narrated.

Pierce winced, before realising the now-dubbed Polarity Partners were eyeing him up. "Raya!" With a quick tune, his phoenix partner emerged from the flute. "Take us up!" Pierce commanded, and, reacting to his instinctive panic, Raya leapt skywards, flapping and rapidly gaining altitude.

"Nega-Neon!" Jashie launched an impeccably aimed orb of negative magic, but it splashed off the feathers of Raya's underbelly.

"Phoenix feathers are immune to magic!" Pierce shouted down at the pair. "Not that I expect you two to know anything about Phoenixes!"

His answer was an upwards rain of black/white projectiles. Raya ducked and weaved, flapping to gain altitude.

"They took out Sarph in one hit," Pierce gulped, a concerned frown crossing his face as he looked down. "How are we supposed to fight that?"

"Well, think of something fast!" Raya grunted as a ball of white magic splashed over her right wing joint. "I can only take so many hits!"

"Sarph can't have been knocked out by that one hit. He'll be back up in a minute or two," the Tamer hastily strategised. "We've just gotta hold out until then,"

Flapping, Raya brought them higher.

-[CoT]-

Kenzie had spent half an hour struggling to stay above water. The salt was leeching the energy from her bones. Why did she think going into the sewers was a good idea?

Blearily, she registered that she had emerged into open air. The river, no doubt. The river connected straight to the ocean, and Crocus used the tides to keep the sewer system clean. On the bright side, the feces content of the sewer was that much lower than it was in other sewers she had been in. On the downside . . she weakly kicked her legs, trying to keep her face above water.

And then a familiar figurehead loomed in the distance above her. It was the _Fowl Iris . ._ her _Fowl Iris_ . . what a stroke of luck!

"HELP!" Kenzie shrieked at the top of her lungs. A lot of her crew was in Domus Flau, enjoying the games. But she'd made sure that enough of a skeleton crew was on the ship to make sure it didn't get stolen. The Fowl Iris, of course, was currently disguised as a trading ship, with the pale green tillerhouse, mermaid figurehead, and flag declaring itself part of the Sindria Trading Company. But it was her ship, alright.

And, sure enough, a flying rope was thrown from the ship, with a life preserver attached to the end. Grinning and making a mental note to give a raise to whomever had thrown her salvation, she weakly grasped the life preserver and pulled herself above water. The rope went taut, dragging the captain to the side of the ship, before starting to lift her out of the water.

As soon as her toes cleared the water, life surged back into Kenzie's body and she immediately pulled herself further upwards, soon reaching the fore deck. "Captain?" one of her deckhands gasped in surprise.

Kenzie threw off her sodden coat, leaving her midriff and arms bare, and winked. "The one and only. Send a runner to tell the rest of the crew, there's Marines in Crocus. They should all be on guard and under no circumstances return to the ship,"

"Shall we make the sails ready, captain?" he asked, but Kenzie shook her head. "No, any ship leaving now when they know Captain Black "The Succubus" is in the city will be viewed with suspicion. Also, if anyone asks, you're the captain. I'll be below decks," she declared and vanished into a trapdoor.

"Uh . . yes, cap'n," the man saluted.

But across the shore, Tashigi helped her two lackeys out of the water. "That must be her ship," she growled, staring at the _Fowl Iris_ and knowing that she couldn't take on an entire ship full of pirates with only two men.

She pulled a Transponder Snail out of her pocket and picked up the phone built into its shell. "Captain Smoker? Come in, Smoker,"

-[CoT]-

"I'm sick of this," Jashie complained as Raya wheeled above her.

Eishaj grunted and cast his sister a look. Jashie glanced back at him. A silent conversation played out in seconds. "Do it," Jashie finally confirmed.

Eishaj smiled, and raised his hands, clapping them together. "Positive Charge!" he roared, the unexpected voice ringing through the arena.

"Wait, he can talk? I thought he was mute!" Chapati exclaimed.

White energy coated the tanned twin's body, erupting in an aurora of positive magic.

And then a white magic circle appeared on the ground around the Lamia. "Positive Prevolution!" Eishaj yelled at the top of his lungs. "Come, Poscylla!"

With a crack like lightning, white energy burst from the ground, lifting Eishaj into the air and coalescing into a massive, monstrous shape. Long, writhing tentacles sprouted from one end, and a massive, lashing tail emerged from the other end of the mass as each of the five serpentine tentacles sprouted black eyes and gnashing jaws.

Pierce gulped, looking down. "A scylla?!" he hissed in disbelief.

Eishaj stood, balanced perfectly at the base of the creature's necks, arms folded as the scylla lunged upwards, obeying his mental command, a head shooting out like a whip and biting at Raya's wing.

The Phoenix hastily barrel rolled, tucking in her wings to keep them from being chewed off. Pierce shrieked as he came far too close to the magical teeth, clinging to Raya's plumage as she levelled out and continued to gain altitude.

"Go as high as you want, it won't do you any good!" Jashie roared in perverse pleasure. Sure enough, two more of Poscylla's heads lunged upwards, but this time, they _stretched_ , the white energy making up the construct's body instantaneously redistributing itself and adding length to the two attackers.

And this time, as Raya wheeled to avoid one, the second struck.

The bird shrieked as the razor-sharp teeth cut through her feathers and drew blood, Pierce scrambling to keep out of the way. He pulled out his flute, but Raya hissed; "Don't! Not yet!"

"If you're sure," Pierce frowned, but nodded as the head retracted and lowered, bringing them down to ground level and twisting them to face their opponents.

"Not so high and mighty now, huh?" Jashie, sneered standing next to Eishaj on the back of Poscylla as they glared down Pierce and Raya.

"I have two words for you," Raya hissed through a beak clenched with pain. Pierce wasn't entirely certain where she was going with this, but he nodded agreement. "Two words;"

"Enlighten us," Jashie challenged.

"We'll win!" Pierce shouted, as Raya shrieked, "Solar Blast!" and released the flare of fiery energy that she had been quietly building in her beak. The surprise attack knocked both their attackers backwards, sending Eishaj flying and Jashie collapsing to the ground.

With a mighty heave, Raya pulled herself out of the jaws and hit the ground in a heap, Pierce jumping clear and landing near her head. "I think I like yours better," he smiled at his partner.

Raya weakly tossed her plumage. "I'm done . ." she moaned, and, nodding, Pierce played her recall tune on his flute, before whirling to face the two Lamias.

Eishaj had been caught by Poscylla's tail and returned to his vantage point. He glared down at Pierce, and his summon growled, five maws of razor-sharp teeth staring him down.

"Cheap shot!" Jashie yelled, picking herself up out of the dirt.

"So?" Pierce shrugged, surreptitiously stepping backwards. If Raya was out, he'd need room to manoeuvre. He wouldn't be able to get airborne again; having lost Cubelios, Victoria was his only other flying beast, and she was too slow. But there might be another way . .

Blowing hard into his flute, Pierce launched into a series of heavy, rocky notes. A swirling red/white portal appeared at the end of his flute, and a familiar small metal creature emerged. _"Let's kick some tail!_ " Aron shrieked, looking almost antsy.

"Not now. Dig! We need to get underground!" Pierce commanded.

Jashie and Eishaj paused, before starting forwards, realising his plan. But it was too late, as Aron chirped and ploughed into the rock at Pierce's feet, tearing open a hole that the Tamer dropped into. Once underground, Pierce frantically crawled after the burrowing beast - and not a second too soon, as one of Poscylla's heads smashed a hole into the ground that would have crushed them both.

Pierce grumbled as they were plunged into darkness as the tunnel collapsed beneath them. "Take Over: Werewolf Soul!" he invoked, bursting out in thick fur and feeling his eyes shift to see in the darkness.

 _"What's the plan, Master?"_ the small Pokemon questioned.

"Hit them from below. Use Take Down," Take Down was the strongest move Aron could do.

 _"Alright. I've got an idea on how to get an opening, too,"_ Aron winked.

"Go right ahead," Pierce commanded.

Above ground, Jashie and Eishaj weren't wasting magic on trying to hit Pierce underground. Instead, they were waiting, patiently, for the slightest sign of their foes' position.

And then a horrendous, grating noise echoed from behind Jashie, like nails on a chalkboard magnified by eleven. Both of the Polarity Pair span to search for the source of the horrible noise. "What is that?!" Jashie shrieked.

And then a metal body slammed into her from behind. Aron roared, feeling the recoil of a successful Take Down, before plunging back into the ground.

"He tricked us!" Jashie groaned as the smoke dissipated.

 _"How was that?"_ Aron asked Pierce, his head emerging from the wall of the cramped tunnel.

"Amazing. Was that a new move?" Pierce heartily endorsed.

 _"Yep! I call it Metal Sound,"_ Aron sounded quite proud, and Pierce nodded. "Great. Hit her again,"

Once again, Jashie heard the horrible sound ring out, but she wasn't going to fall for it twice. "Oh no! Where are you?" she growled, watching the ground around her. Eishaj watched, feeling secure atop Poscylla.

And then a flying mass of rocks shot from the ground and crashed into him. Aron bellowed a war cry as Eishaj was half buried beneath his Rock Slide attack, before jumping off Poscylla and plunging back into the ground.

"What is that thing?!" Jashie demanded, outraged.

"Do you know what that creature is, Mr. Yajima?" Chapati questioned, and the chef shook his head.

"Probably an animal that ate some kind of metal Devil Fruit. Don't worry about it too much," Smoker shrugged.

Suddenly, there was a ringing sound from the Vice-Admiral's pocket. Smoker frowned, before scooping a Transponder Snail from his pocket and picking up the receiver. "Tashigi?"

The Marine listened to his confidant's voice for a few minutes, and growled, "I'll be right there," He stood, eyeing Chapati and Yajima. "I have to go. Don't wait for me or anything," Smoker commanded, before exiting through the door.

Meanwhile, underground, Pierce started as Aron burst back into his cave. _"Master! I feel strange after that last attack . . like I'm suddenly full of energy, but also tired and really angry!"_

"Um . ." The Tamer frowned. Was it just his night vision playing up, or was Aron _glowing_? "Well, good. Use that energy and that anger. Let's win this fight!"

 _"Yes, Master! Let's -"_ Suddenly, Aron seemed to spasm, cutting himself off.

"Aron?" Pierce gasped, scrabbling forwards to inspect the Pokemon. His beast was definitely glowing.

 _"I . ."_ Aron growled to himself, shaking his head as his eyes shone bright blue. _"I am . ."_

On a sudden instinct, Pierce backed up as the magic power building within Aron's body built to a crescendo.

 _"I AM STRONG!"_ the Pokemon roared as light and magic shone in every direction, bursting through cracks in the ground as his body swelled and metamorphosed. The ground cracked as the growing Pokemon forced his way into the open air, sending shards of rock flying in every direction as the steel plate on Aron's back splintered and segmented, spikes growing out of it. His stubby legs spontaneously thickened and widened, growing into mighty claws. A twitching tail coated in thick metal armour burst from his splintered armour, and around his eyes, the metal plate of Aron's face splintered as his skull swelled, dividing his cheeks into a massive maw. Exposed by the broken ground, Pierce watched in amazement as his beast transformed before his eyes.

"Lairon!" the new Pokemon roared, before rounding on Jashie and charging.

"Unbelievable! Pierce's monster has - has . . evolved!" Chapati gasped. "Yajima, have you ever seen anything like this?"

"I can't say that I have," the chef admitted.

Pierce raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. ". . Aron?" he questioned in disbelief.

"Lairon!" the Pokemon repeated, bashing Jashie into the wall of the arena with liberal use of Iron Head and Take Down.

"I guess I did want him to grow up . . thought it would take longer," Pierce mused, before nodding. "Yes, Aro - um, Lairon?! Keep hit-"

"Nega-Force!" Jashie's knockback kick launched Lairon away from her, and the bulky Pokemon narrowly avoided hitting Pierce. The Tamer hastened to his Pokemon's side. "Are you alright?"

 _"I'm mad!"_ Lairon roared, rolling back onto his feet and lowering his head. Pierce hastily placed a hand on his snout. The once dog-sized Pokémon was now in league with a rhinoceros and probably weighed twice as much. "Whoa. I know you're going through a lot right now, but we need to fight _smart_ ,"

The newly-evolved Pokémon nodded, glaring at the Polarity Pair. _"What's the plan?"_

Eishaj snapped his fingers, and Poscylla roared. Pierce and partner both looked up at the five-headed construct. "Run," Pierce advised, slinging himself onto Lairon's neck.

 _"With pleasure!"_ Lairon roared, charging forwards, straight under the first biting head and skidding around a second. "This is not what I meant!" Pierce screamed, ducking low and clinging on as the reckless rampager charged between Poscylla's legs and hung a sharp left, once again targeting Jashie.

"Nega-Nexus!" the Negative witch commanded, throwing a net of crackling black energy over Lairon.

"Use Protect!" Pierce shouted, and a shield of white energy flashed into being around his impromptu mount's head, absorbing the attack - and then Lairon hit Jashie like a bulldozer, throwing her into the wall. He roared triumphantly, standing proud.

Eishaj grunted in annoyance as Poscylla, using one of its heads like a baseball bat, slammed Lairon and Pierce into the arena wall.

"Good shot," The Lamia nodded appreciatively at the compliment, but paused, wondering who was speaking. He turned.

Sarph hovered before him, «Tenshi Meiyo» at the ready, and displeasure painted across his face. "Better than the one you gave me," he growled, and launched into a four-strike «Sword Skill» that knocked Eishaj from his perch yet again and pounded him into the ground.

But, instead of pressing his advantage, Sarph wheeled, beating his Aera wings, and brought his sword up, cloaking it in Archive screens that made the black blade swell to several times its size. "There's only one Beast Tamer in this fight," he declared, bringing the massive weapon down on Poscylla, bisecting the construct and causing it to dissipate into ethernano.

"Sarph! I knew you'd come back!" Pierce yelled, grateful, as he and Lairon each picked themselves up.

"I can't let one of my guildmates down," Sarph assured his friend, soaring over to land next to him.

Jashie helped Eishaj back to his feet, and the two teams faced off once again.

"They're together," Sarph suddenly realised.

"Huh?" Pierce questioned, and Sarph glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Remember our plan? We need them separated!"

"Well, you failed," Jashie cruelly smirked. "Brother, let's end this,"

An Archive screen popped open and Sarph scanned it. "They're going to use their Unison Raid. Neutralisation Nebula. Counters?" As he spoke, Jashie and Eishaj clasped their left and right hands together respectively, Jashie's left glowing with black magic while Eishaj's right filled with white power.

"Lairon can use Protect," Pierce suggested.

"It won't be enough," Sarph frowned.

"You don't know what we're capable of. You don't know the trouble you're in!" Jashie shrieked, a grey magic circle spinning around their hands, wavering and wobbling in every direction. Sarph brought his sword up defensively, manifesting overlaid Archive screens as a shield, and Lairon crouched in front of Pierce.

"Go . ." Jashie trailed off as, in a fluid motion, both members of the Polarity Pair swung the magic circle upwards like a frisbee, where it soared into the air. At the apex of its climb, it detonated, unleashing a pulse of smoky grey magic. Sarph went white. "This isn't Neutralisation Nebula," he whispered, stunned.

Twin voices spoke in tandem. "Neutralisation . ." Everyone watched as the cloud surged downwards, hitting the ground and exploding feet away from the Phoenixes. "Neostorm!" Jashie and Eishaj roared as a massive particle cloud magic engulfed their opponents, spreading across the arena and hiding everything within from view.

Everyone watching gasped as the feeds from the lacrima cameras went dark. "Pierce!" Tyria gasped.

"How strong have those two gotten?" Master Feng wondered in disbelief.

"I don't believe it! Is it over?" Chapati questioned.

Everything was silent as Neutralisation Neostorm raged across the arena.

-[CoT]-

"Sir!" Tashigi and what forces of G-5 she had been able to round up saluted. They were standing near the edge of the docks, eyes fixed on the Black Eye Pirates' ship.

Vice-Admiral Smoker strode towards them, his twin cigars clamped between his lips. A trail of smoke marked his path. "Is their ship still there?"

"Yes, sir. I don't think they know we've found them," Tashigi nodded.

"Good," Smoker confirmed without breaking his stride. He walked straight past them. "Come on,"

Nodding, Tashigi and their men unhesitatingly followed.

His boots rung as he strode up the gangplank. Smoker noted with distaste the efforts that Black's men had taken to disguise the pirate ship. The mermaid figurehead was a nice touch, but, looking closely, he could see that it was designed to be easily removed and replaced. No doubt with a phoenix.

"Um, sir? M-may I ask what you're d-doing on m-my ship?" a nearby man stuttered, looking nervous as the Vice-Admiral loomed over him.

Smoker took his time in answering, taking a long draught from his twin cigars. "Your ship?" he parroted, sounding unimpressed.

"Y-yes," the man nervously nodded.

Smoker tched. This man didn't have the guts to be the captain of any sort of ship, even the Sindria merchant vessel they were pretending to be. Especially not a Sindrian merchant, they were made of sterner stuff than this in his experience. "That's real funny, little man. Ha ha. Now where the hell is your real captain, and does she look anything like this?" He flipped open a book of 'Wanted' leaflets, and let it fall open to the $150,000 price tag on the head of Black "The Succubus" Kenzie.

The look on the man's face told him everything he needed to know. "Men? Tear this ship apart!" Smoker commanded. "If she's here, we'll find her. If she isn't, then we'll sink her ship and call it a victory,"

"Yes sir!" the men cheered, rushing forwards and searching for convenient places from which to start ripping the ship apart.

"That won't be necessary!" a commanding voice rung across the deck. Everyone paused and looked up to the wheelhouse, seeing the black-haired pirate captain leering down at them.

"There she is!" Tashigi shouted, rather unnecessarily.

"So, the big man comes to see me in person?" Kenzie grinned, jumping up onto the balcony railing and grinning down at the Marines. "I'm honoured,"

Smoker tched. "Are we going to fight, or what?"

"I dunno," She leaped down, landing easily and and approaching the Marine troops. "I just wanna know, is there any way this ends without me kicking you off my ship and us getting out of here?"

"Yes. I arrest you," Smoker nodded as though this were obvious.

"That isn't what I had in mind," Kenzie's seductive smile dropped. "Look. You didn't come here as a Marine to arrest pirates, you came here for the Grand Magic Games, right? Well, so did I. Me and my crew aren't here as pirates, we're here to support our friends who live here and help them get back on their feet. Ask around. Has anyone actually made any reports or complaints about pirates harassing this city in the last few days?"

Smoker frowned, and Kenzie's spirits lifted. Was she actually getting through to him? Most Marines wouldn't even listen to pirates. But Smoker seemed like he was actually a good man. No wonder his superiors found him threatening enough that he had to be shipped off to G-5 and sent out to Fiore.

"You're still a pirate. If I let you go now, then you'll just cause more chaos and destruction later. How do you expect me to keep that on my conscience?" Smoker questioned.

"I'm not saying you should just let me go," Black reasoned in response. "There's still two and a bit days left of the Games. I have a duty to my guild to stick around and help them finish competing, and if I had to guess you've got orders to stick around until the end of the Games at least. Make sure Fiore's not plotting to overthrow the World Government, or something like that. All I'm asking for is a ceasefire of a few days, enough time for us to finish up both our business,"

"Are you actually buying this crap, sir?" Tashigi demanded of a random Marine who had a similar build to Smoker. "Wear your damn glasses," Smoker retorted to her, at which Tashigi paused, donned her spectacles, and realised she was addressing the wrong Marine. "If you give her this, she'll just sneak away in the dead of night!"

"I would not!" Kenzie retorted. Mind, she totally would if not for the Games . . but they didn't need to know that. "Didn't you just hear me talking about the obligations I have to fulfil?"

"As if a pirate cares for anything but their -" Tashigi cut herself off as Smoker raised a hand. "I can understand having obligations. Sometimes it seems like the Marine Corps have lost sight of what we're supposed to be all about; helping people,"

Kenzie nodded, knowing better than to say anything as Smoker continued. "You're right, too. I've got orders to stay here and see how the royal family here feels about the World Government . . . not that I really believe this quaint little country would try to declare war on my Government or anything," he added.

"That'll be the day," the pirate nodded with a slight chuckle.

"If I arrested an active participant of the Games, or even your entire team for harbouring a criminal," Kenzie tensed at this. Not on her life would her guild suffer for her crimes. "Then the local administration would be angry. So would the people. That's not something I want to be responsible for," he mused.

Kenzie solemnly nodded, and a smile tugged at Smoker's lips. "Alright, Black. If you promise me that you won't leave this city until the Grand Magic Games have concluded, I'll agree that we'll leave you alone until you've fulfilled your obligations,"

The pirate captain smiled, not a smile of seduction, or a smirk of satisfaction, or a grimace, but a rare, genuine smile. "Thank you,"

"Don't thank me yet, Black. You haven't seen the last of me," Smoker assured her, turning and stirring past a dumbfounded Tashigi. "Well, what are you bozos waiting for? I said we're leaving!"

"But . . but sir . . she's a pirate," Tashigi spluttered as the Marines reluctantly followed their leader.

"And I'm a Vice-Admiral. So shut up and follow orders," Smoker declared.

Tashigi groaned, but fell in line. "Yes, sir," she grouched. But the Marine Captain couldn't let it go without a shot at claiming the last word. "This isn't over, Black! We're not finished!"

Kenzie mulled this over as the last of the Marines left the ship, before calling back; "I still think you'd be a lot prettier without that jacket!"

"Oh, fuck you!"

"Anytime!" Kenzie winked, sauntering back inside.

Tashigi drew breath, still determined to get the last word, but a heavy hand on Tashigi's shoulder gave her pause. "You can decide whether you want to fight or seduce her or whatever later. We still have a mission to attend to," Smoker instructed her.

"Fine!" She huffed, before casting an angry look at the rank-and-file men, many of whom seemed to be lost in some manner of erotic fantasy no doubt involving her and the pirate. "And unless you sorry excuses want to turn pirate, get off your asses and fall in!"

Kenzie, watching through a window, stifled a chuckle. "She likes me,"

-[CoT]-

Finally, the fog of Neutralisation Neostorm cleared, revealing a stunning sight.

Jashie and Eishaj stood over an unconscious Pierce and Sarph, with Lairon having collapsed nearby.

"What an upset! Lamia Scale's Polarity Pair have annihilated Phoenix's Eye's representatives! That's ten points to Lamia Scale, which means with a whopping forty-three points . . holy moly, folks! In one fell swoop, Lamia Scale has overtaken previous favourites Sabretooth _and_ Black Eye Pirates, as well as both Fairy Tail teams and Phoenix's Eye A for good measure! They're in first place!"

"And it damn well took long enough, too!" Jashie shouted as she and Eishaj led a round of cheers back to their bay.

Meanwhile, Pierce wearily picked himself up, having only blacked out for a couple of minutes. "Wha . . what happened?"

"We let the guild down, Pierce," Sarph rumbled, sitting up and looking depressed. "We lost,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **In case it wasn't clear, the big fight between Natsu, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue still happens after that fight. Fairy Tail earns ten points and shunts Lamia Scale to second place. That was just such a perfect note on which to end the chapter, I couldn't resist.**

 **Also, be honest. Who thought Sarph and Pierce would win? Well nyeh. Maybe you won't be so hasty to make predictions in the future.**

 **Alright, time to set up for the big Battle Royale! But first, we need to visit the ghost of a certain Dragon.**

 **Scoreboard!**

 **Fairy Tail A: 48**

 **Lamia Scale: 43**

 **Fairy Tail B: 41**

 **Black Eye Pirates: 40**

 **Sabertooth: 39**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 37**

 **Mermaid Heel: 30**

 **Blue Pegasus: 23**

 **Aww, sixth place for Phoenix's Eye? That won't do . . Also, Blue Pegasus is really sucking. Poor perverts - okay, not really. XD**

 **Also, I want to remind everyone that after the GMG is finished, I'm going to put the story on hiatus until I can rebuild my backlog. Which I suppose is the price you all pay for the extra-long chapters this arc has been composed of. And I also want to remind everyone that I'm accepting submissions for Phoenix's Eye meta-fanfiction over the hiatus! So if you want to create your own little piece of the Phoenix's Eye world, get writing! Peace!**

-[CoT]-

Kit had been staring down the pile of weaponry for an hour. "I can do this all day," he growled at Aberforth's armaments. His tail twitched.

Suddenly, green mist appeared around the weaponry. The mist coiled and hissed, as twin red dots of light appeared amidst it.

Kit blinked. He recognised that ectoplasmic signature . . there wasn't a yokai alive who wouldn't. He suddenly realised that he was in way over his head.

"A human sympathiser. How quaint," the mist hissed as a tentacle reached up, carrying the red dots with it. It flared outwards like the hood of a cobra, looming above Kit's vulpine form. "Tell me, do you know me?"

"As if any yokai doesn't. It was because of you that the king sent us all away!" Kit growled.

The mist seemed to huff. "I don't know what you're talking about,"

"You betrayed him, Yurei! You betrayed us all. I don't know what you want with Aberforth there or our guild, but I've spent years building a new family after you destroyed our old one, and I'm not letting _you_ anywhere near it!"

The coiling mist finally resolved itself into the form of a red-eyed, emerald green snake. "Oh, that's cute. But don't forget, little fox, I still hold royal privilege. I hereby command you not to speak of me to any of your pathetic human friends. Or any other yokai, for that matter,"

Kit blinked. He had forgotten about the authority that royal yokai held over others of their kind. It was immutable. ". . You won't get away with this. I'll figure you out, I'll stop you! Phoenix's Eye has never met an enemy we couldn't defeat, and you won't be the first!"

Prince Yurei, son of the Yokai King, looked irritated. ". . . You know, I think I recognise you now. You always did have a bad habit of making assumptions, Kitsunetsuki," The cobra tilted his head in curiosity, wondering if his guess as to the identity of his former comrade was correct.

Kit turned and stalked away, more infuriated than he'd felt in years with this horrible . . walking insult to everything a yokai should be. "My name is Kit. Use it,"

He had intended for it to be the last word on the matter, but before he was out of earshot, Yurei chuckled. "Don't forget who's in charge, Kitsunetsuki,"


	40. Arashi Deta

Chapter 110: Arashi Deta

"Kynigós! Kynigós, wake up!"

Kynigós blinked. He'd been having a really strange dream . . he and Zeta had gone back in time to save the world from the dragons before they arrived, and Ryos had turned evil and killed Asuka, and he'd made friends with a princess who he didn't really trust and got drunk off his ass at a bar with an honest-to-gods _knight_ , and spent most of the day dozing in bed and nursing a hangover. But all of that had to have been made up, because now he was hearing his old friend Lucy's voice and he hadn't seen Lucy since the Eclipse Gate, but he was blearily looking up at her face and . . and the ground felt really soft . . like a bed . .

"I can't believe you made it!" Lucy exclaimed, wrapping her single arm round him in a hug. "How long have you been here? I only arrived a few hours ago,"

"I found her wandering the streets reeking of Eclipse Gate Magic," Kynigós was surprised to hear a vaguely recognisable voice and sat up straight, taking in the appearance of a blue-haired man who he immediately recognised as King Mystogan . . and he was in a bedroom opulent enough to be in a palace . . oh, alright then. So he was still dreaming.

"Jellal's been a big help in getting me caught up. I can't believe you're working with Princess Hisui and the Royal Guard," Lucy smiled weakly, sitting on the bed next to him.

And then it all suddenly came back to him. "Lucy!" he exclaimed, embracing his friend in return. "You made it through the Eclipse Gate. I'm glad, I was so worried . . hold on," Looking over Lucy's shoulder, Kynigós' hazel eyes fixed on Mystogan. No, Jellal. That was his name. "What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?"

"Don't be mad, he brought me to meet you," Lucy explained. "I'm surprised you're asleep in the middle of the afternoon,"

"I had a long night," Kynigós dismissed, before realising he was still in his boxer shorts. "Would you two terribly mind letting me get dressed?"

-[CoT]-

"Quit being all mopey. It doesn't suit you," Tyria protested, looking at Pierce.

Team Pierce were sitting around two tables pressed together, at a restaurant not far from Yuki's apartment building, enjoying dinner. Grace was devouring a stack of pies while Hare nibbled delicately at an salad. Pierce, though, had no appetite, and Tyria was trying to coax him into eating a sausage.

Sarph, however, was furiously working at his Archive. "Neutralisation Neostorm . . there has to be a way to defeat it. There's no such thing as a flawless technique!" he ranted, looking almost unhinged.

Tyria cast him a concerned look. "You need to eat too," she frowned.

"What I need is a «Sword Skill» that can cut the air itself!"

Grace raised a worried eyebrow. "Uh, big bro? Remember when you said Sarph was sane to a lesser extent than Tyria and Boomer? I'm really seeing it now,"

Piece blinked. "That was ages ago. I'm surprised you remember,"

Heavy footsteps interrupted them, and the Phoenixes turned to see Natsu, Gabriel, Wendy and Lucy of the Fairy Tail guild approaching them. "Hey, kid. You should come with us. There's something you gotta see," Gajeel grunted in Grace's direction.

"What is it?" Grace questioned, standing up. Pierce stood up too. "What do you want with Grace?"

"This is a matter for Dragon Slayers," Gajeel frowned.

"Then why is Lucy with you?" Tyria asked, folding her arms.

"I'm not going anywhere without Pierce," Grace huffed.

"Fine," the Iron Dragon Slayer shrugged. "Your funeral. Come on,"

"Eh, you lot go. I'm still eating," Hare waved them off.

"Excuse me? Can we take these to go?" Grace waved down a waiter who nodded and dashed off, promptly returning with some boxes.

"Yeah. Let's all leave Hare to enjoy her meal," Boomer agreed. Hare was surprised to hear the Sound Wizard agreeing with her, but nodded as the rest of Team Pierce stood up, Grace scooping up a pair of pies in boxes.

"If you're quite done, we should go," Gajeel declared, leading both his guildmates and Team Pierce out of the restaurant.

It wasn't long until Hare, alone, had finished her meal. "This place is good," she nodded, content.

And then a waiter served her a piece of paper on a platter. "Mademoiselle, the bill,"

The Sylph blinked, realising her friends had left her to pay for dinner. ". . Damnit!"

-[CoT]-

"So, um, what did you find down here?" Wendy questioned, and Pierce noted with interest that apparently Gajeel hadn't kept his guildmates in the loop either. The motley group of Fairies and Phoenixes were being led by Gajeel through a cave in the mountain under Domus Flau.

"Pipe down and keep up," Gajeel huffed in response.

"Make us," Grace snorted, and Wendy looked at her in surprise, before grinning and nodding.

"Why'd you only ask for us and the kid over there?" Natsu questioned.

"I wonder if if he found something that has to do with Dragon Slayer Magic?" Happy questioned. "Possibly," Lily noncommittally commented.

"So then . . why did the gawkers tag along?" Charle snorted, gesturing at the remainder of Team Pierce, plus Lucy and Gray of Fairy Tail. "Well excuse us for being gawkers," Gray snorted.

"I'm not letting you Fairies take my sister anywhere without me to keep an eye on things," Pierce huffed.

"What, you think we'd stoop so low as to sabotage?" Natsu growled.

"Well, I doubt _you_ would. Gajeel on the other hand," Pierce shrugged, and the Iron Dragon Slayer grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, this is it," Gajeel declared as the cave opened up into a massive space. Wendy gasped. "Look up there!"

"What the heck?" Boomer questioned, and Sarph raised a curious eyebrow. "Unbelievable,"

"They look like . . giant bones," Lucy whimpered.

"Those aren't just any bones. These are all Dragon remains," Natsu frowned, and Pierce growled, looking angry. "Who did this?"

"No one still alive, I can tell you that," Gajeel assured him as he continued to lead them through the dragon graveyard. "These bones are hundreds of years old,"

"Doesn't explain how they got here. Why would there be piles and piles of them like this?" Natsu questioned, quickening his stride. "Something bad must have happened here," Lucy murmured. "Maybe," Something struck Tyria as odd about the situation, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

 _Meanwhile, in a crevice far above them, a pair of eyes watched, cloaked with dark fabric._

"Who knows, maybe we'll find Igneel here somewhere," Happy murmured.

"No, he ain't here. Hate to say it, but Gajeel's right. It's only been fourteen years since our dragons vanished, these have been here way longer," Natsu confirmed.

"What were they like? Your dragons?" Grace asked, sounding somewhat wistful.

"Grandeeney was always very stern, but fair and kind," Wendy murmured, and Pierce noticed the melancholy look on Grace's face. After all, the closest thing she'd ever had to a parent, that she remembered, was Master Feng. "Wait . . Grandeeney. Of course," the Sky Dragon Slayer realised, her eyes widening.

"You have an idea?" Sarph questioned. "The Milky Way Spell," Wendy explained.

As they spoke about the Sky Dragon Secret Art, Tyria cocked her head. There was something . . . With an agile leap, she jumped over some rocks and climbed upwards. Pierce, seeing her, called; "Tyria? Where are you going?"

"I've got a hunch. I'll be back in a minute!" the demigod shouted back down to them.

"It's possible that the Spell could allow us to hear the voices of dragons who passed on," Wendy explained.

"No way," Boomer raised a shocked eyebrow.

"You think?" Gajeel questioned.

"Awesome!" Grace endorsed the idea.

"If we can somehow commune with the spirits of these dragons, then one of them might be able to tell us what happened here," Wendy explained. "We might finally be able to find out why our dragons vanished,"

It wasn't long until Wendy had traced a circle of runes into the dirt with what everyone hoped was a stick that had somehow ended up in the cave. Yep, definitely a stick. Not a bone or anything else.

"A magic circle," Sarph observed in fscination.

"Yeah, what are you trying to do?" Natsu questioned, and Charle tched. "If you'd been paying attention, you would know that,"

"She's casting the Milky Way," Happy reminded his partner.

"Where'd Tyria go?" Grae asked, and Pierce reminded her; "She went to investigate something. Demigod stuff, I assume,"

"Here we go," Wendy smiled, before raising an arm. "I need everyone to step away from the circle,"

Everyone stepped back, and Wendy raised her arms and chanted; "O wandering spirits of dragons long past, reveal yourselves and share your wisdom with me!" She kneeled, closing her eyes and raising her palms. "Milky Way!"

The circle erupted with light that shone in every direction, infusing the bones around them with glowing green magic. Suddenly, they started to quake and shiver.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Boomer questioned.

"I'm trying to contact a dragon's spirit," Wendy explained. "But the residual thought energy lingering here is weak. It's very old, and it's fading,"

Above them, the watching eyes narrowed, and their owner produced a small capsule of a clear liquid. Reaching down, she tilted it ever so slightly, and a single drop slid out of the bottle and hit the bones below. "Your tears," she murmured. "Help me one more time, old friend,"

Wendy gasped, before turning to the skeleton that had been hit with the liquid. "There! I've found one!" The skeleton shone with green light that momentarily blinded everyone as green miasma rose from the ground around Wendy and the carcass. It suddenly surged upwards, building into a supercell of magic. "Wendy!" Happy cried out, and Charle held up a paw. "Be quiet, she's concentrating!"

And then the building storm erupted with lightning formed from the green mist, as a massive pair of light grey wings emerged, followed by slim, supple arms that ended in smooth, serrated claws. A triangular head appeared on the end of a long, sinuous neck, with arrow-like horns that ended in pointed barbs slicked back aerodynamically. The forming dragon stretched, arcing her head upwards and, seemingly by accident, putting her head through the roof of the cave and into the small crevasse that her aide was crouched in.

"So, this is what you warned me about?" The dragon questioned, wasting not a second but knowing the humans below would not hear her.

"Indeed it is. You remember what to tell them?"

"Of course," the silver dragon nodded. "This is the last time we will see each other, correct?"

"For you, yes. But I'll see you again," the woman nodded.

"I've enjoyed being your dragon, Faraday," the dragon leant forwards and pressed their snout to Faraday's forehead. For her part, Faraday, the strongest S-Class wizard of the Phoenix's Eye guild, smiled like a little girl and did her best to wrap her arms around the phantasmal form of her teacher. "I loved every second, Arashi,"

The dragon smiled one last time, before adopting a stern look. "Now, to business,"

In the cave below, there was an air of anticipation. "Do you think they realise that their head's inside the ceiling?" Grace whispered.

"Shush. They can probably hear you," Sarph hissed.

And then the ghostly dragon's head descended, lowering as they folded their wings and roaring, "Who dares disturb the slumber of Arashi Deta, the Storm Dragon?!"

Everyone's eyes went wide at the sudden roar.

"Um . ." Wendy squeaked.

"You have to be firm with dragons. Get them to respect you," Grace hissed helpfully.

"U-uh . . I'm Wendy. I summoned your spirit to find out what happened to all these dragons," she explained.

Arashi tilted their head inquisitively, before their gaze fixed on Grace. Green hair, grey dress . . She must be the one who Faraday had warned them about. Intriguing. "You would speak with me?"

"Y-Yes," Wendy nodded.

"This is Grandeeney's spell. Are you her protege?" Arashi queried, bending their neck and looking at Wendy closely. "Um, yes,"

A smile played across the ghost's lips, and she leant down and eyed Wendy closely. "Well, then it's a pleasure to properly meet my niece,"

This stunned everyone. "Hold on; you're Grandeeney's sister?" Gray spluttered.

Arashi regarded him in irritation. "Sometimes. Sometimes I am her brother. Sometimes I am neither, just her sibling. Is that a problem?"

"Uh, no ma'am," Gray nodded. "Um - sir?"

"A non-binary dragon. I feel like I should have expected this," Pierce murmured.

Arashi snorted, and returned her gaze to Wendy, settling down. "Ask me anything, and I will be happy to help as best I can. That goes for all of your friends, might I add . . except the rude little pervert over there," she briefly twitched a claw in Gray's direction.

"Pervert?!" Gray spluttered. "You can defend your pride after you find your pants," Lucy suggested to him, and the ice wizard looked down and squeaked. "Crap!"

"What happened here?" Grace asked, looking around at the pile of remains. "How did all these dragons die?"

"Well, to explain that, I have to explain a lot of things," Arashi mused. "A little more than four hundred years ago was the height of dragonkind. We ruled the land, and all who were beneath our feet were inconsequential. Including your kind," they clarified. "The opinion dragons had of humans was divided, to say the least. Some of my kin saw you as a food source. Myself and my fellows thought you worthy of respect,"

"Way to be a pal!" Natsu grinned. "That's a relief," Grace nodded.

"The disagreement, though, became violent," the Storm Dragon sighed. "Eventually, one dragon killed another to save the life of a human. The family of the deceased retaliated, and more and more dragons were pulled into the conflict until it erupted into a war,"

Everyone was silent at this, and the ghost continued. "However, my side was losing, which led us to concoct a desperate plan; we weaponised the very thing we were trying to protect,"

"You invented Dragon Slayer Magic and started teaching it to humans," Sarph guessed.

"You are a clever one," Arashi observed. "But yes. The Dragon Slayers turned the tide of the war. For a time, it looked like we were going to win and establish peace. But then . ." Their gaze turned dark. "A travesty transpired that we never could have expected. A faction of Dragon Slayers turned against their teachers,"

The group hung on her every word.

"At the time, there were two great Dragon Slayers who stood above their peers. A man and a woman. And it was the man who decided to rebel against his tutors. Much like the dragons themselves, the ranks of the Dragon Slayers split, rallying around these two. There was a great battle between the two champions, to determine the fate of the world. It lasted for days, and eventually the man was victorious,"

". . What was his name?" Lucy questioned.

"You likely know it. Acnologia," the dragon growled.

"Acnologia?!" Natsu gasped.

"The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse?" Sarph recalled.

"He's the reason our guild got stuck on Tenroe Island for six years. We'd love to get some payback," Gray grimaced, before pausing. "Wait, Acnologia's a dragon. How can he be a Dragon Slayer?"

"That only just occurred to you?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"He was once a human. But every time he killed a dragon, he bathed in their blood and absorbed their power," Arashi shook their head. "And by doing this, he eventually became so bloated with dragon magic that he metamorphosed into a cruel, crude mockery of my kind,"

"Wait, does that mean we're going to turn into dragons too?" Natsu suddenly panicked. "I don't wanna be a dragon!" Wendy wailed. Grace just shrugged, not understanding why they were panicking. Raya, a phoenix, was like a sister to her, and Kit was fun to be around. There were worse things that could happen.

"There's nothing to be concerned about," Arashi assured them, before wincing. "I believe my time is almost up. But without the blood of dozens of different dragons, it's highly unlikely that you'll ever become so inundated with dragon magic as to transform,"

"Are you alright?" Wendy asked, having noticed the wince.

"I will be fine, it's just time for me to return to my slumber. Fare thee well, young Dragon Slayers. And _survive_ ," With that final command, Arashi dissipated back into rapidly-dissolving green mist.

There was a moment of silence. "That was interesting," Gajeel finally commented.

Wendy sat down on a rock, looking tired. "I've never used that much magic before," she wheezed.

"It was awesome! Think you could get her back? Or summon a different dragon?" Natsu questioned. "Not today," Wendy weakly shook her head.

Footsteps interrupted them; three sets of legs walking towards them. The group of Fairies and Phoenixes all turned to see a very unexpected trio approaching them - in the front was a tall, tanned man who only Sarph recognised as Colonel Arcadios. Accompanying him was the white-haired Mage who some of the wizards present recalled from the second day of the Games as Yukino. But the third member of the group was met with surprise from all present.

"Percy? But . ." Natsu looked between the Pierce standing with them and the Pierce who was approaching. The Pierce in question cocked his head in confusion. "Who's Percy?"

"It's a question I've been asking him for years and never once gotten a straight answer," Pierce replied. He, along with the other Phoenixes, had taken note of the new Pierce's visible metal arm. "Kynigós, it's good to see you. We were worried about you,"

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself," the hunter assured them with a surly expression and the faintest smile tugging at his lips.

"Kynig . . oh, right! The weirdo version of you from Edolas! How'd you get here?" Natsu suddenly remembered. "Wait, Edolas?" Lucy spluttered.

"Yeah. And trust me, if I explained the entire story to you, we'd be here all night. Suffice to say I'm here, and here to help," Kynigós flatly explained.

"Good enough for me," Gray agreed. "But what about you two?" he gestured at Colonel Arcadios and Yukino, who stayed silent as the older man stepped forward.

"My name is Colonel Arcadios. And I apologise, but we took the liberty of eavesdropping. It seems our research does indeed line up with historical fact. But there is another part of history we have uncovered that I believe Arashi there was unaware of," Arcadios explained.

"And what's that?" Lucy questioned at the same moment Pierce Blastreyne insisted, "Go on,"

"You have heard of the Demons of the Book of Zeref?" Arcadios questioned, and everyone nodded. Gray thought of Deliora, while Boomer recalled Regykraeon. "Acnologia is similar to them, for it was Zeref himself who turned the Dragon Slayer into that creature of death,"

"Seriously?" Grace frowned. Was that really possible?

"That means, if you wish to conquer the Black Dragon, you must first find a way to subdue the Black Wizard Zeref," Arcadios explained.

"How do you know this?" Gray demanded.

"How do you beat Zeref?" Natsu immediately questioned, giving Arcadios no time to answer the first question.

"So what?" Pierce addressed the both of them, looking a tad annoyed.

"Whaddya mean, _so what_?" Natsu demanded.

"This is all based on the premise that we _want_ to go after Acnologia and Zeref. Why should we? It's a suicide mission at best," Pierce folded his arms. "I get it, your guild has history with them both. But you're all alive now, right? Is it really worth putting your life and that of your friends at risk just for your pride?"

"It's not just about pride!" Natsu shouted. "If we let Acnologia run wild like he has been, then maybe the next time he traps a bunch of wizards on an island, they won't have a Fairy Shield to protect them. If we can at least try to stop that, then we should!"

Pierce grimaced. "You're not wrong, but . . you have to work within what's feasible,"

"But defeating Zeref is feasible," Arcadios interjected. "Or, at least, it was. But that's another story. What's important is the impending apocalypse,"

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, Tyria had climbed up to the roof of the cave and found a fissure. Just as she had suspected, there was another space within, high above the body of Arashi Deta. A blow from her Tectonics cracked the fissure wide enough to climb through, and she emerged into the small cave, glancing around.

She had thought she saw something up here, and, sure enough, there was a trail of footsteps in the gravel underfoot. Coming along the cave to here, this fissure, and then turning around and going back the way they came.

Tyria frowned and started following the footprints. Now who had been up here?

-[CoT]-

This brought everyone to a halt. "Apocalypse?" Boomer parroted.

"Whaddya mean, apocalypse?" Natsu questioned.

"You mean the world is going to end?" Charle blinked, looking horrified.

"Yeah. Look, when me and Equivaton got off the Sempiternal Phoenix, it was here, but not now," Kynigós explained, folding his arms and adopting his typical surly expression. "We ended up another seven years into the future, and found out that on July 7th, X791, ten thousand dragons come out of nowhere in Crocus and take over the world,"

"That's insane," Grace gasped.

"It gets worse. You were all dead," Kynigós gestured to the assembled group, before pausing. "All except Lucy here, that is. Speaking of which, have any of you lot seen a version of Lucy with only one arm?" Of course, Kynigós already knew that his Lucy had arrived earlier that day. But he had no idea what sort of complications might arise from two versions of the same person encountering one another, so he decided to ask, to be safe.

Everyone exchanged mystified glances. "We all died?" Sarph blinked. "All except Lucy?" Natsu parroted in disbelief. Lucy nodded . . she was the last one of the assembled wizards anyone would expect to be the final survivor of an apocalypse. "No, we haven't seen a one-armed Lucy," Happy confirmed, since no one else was going to. "I am morbidly curious about what happened to her arm," Lily murmured.

"She got bit by a zombie, so I had to cut it off to stop her from becoming one. Long story," Kynigós brushed the cat's concerns off, and Lily blinked. "That just raises more questions,"

"Say, you look familiar. Do I know you?" Kynigós frowned at the Exceed, and Lily suddenly gulped, realising that this man was a native of Edolas and would know him primarily by the things he had done as one of the leaders of King Faust's troops. Considering what little he had heard of Pierce Kynigós' past as a hunter of both exotic creatures and soldiers, Lily decided it was best if he didn't make the connection. All this flashed through Lily's mind in a second, and he calmly responded; "No, I have never seen you before in my life," Technically true.

"Right. Well, anyway. Me and Equivaton ended up there, and spent a few months trying to survive the apocalypse. With mixed results," Kynigós grimaced.

Pierce gulped. "He didn't make it, did he?" he asked.

Kynigós sighed and shook his head. "No. But five of us did. Me, the future version of Lucy, Equivaton's adopted daughter Zena, a girl named Asuka and -"

"Asuka?" Natsu parroted in disbelief. "Like, Bisca and Alzack's daughter Asuka?"

"You know her in this time?" Kynigós blinked in surprise.

"She's in our guild," Lucy confirmed.

"I see," A rueful smile played across Kynigos' lips. "The last member of our little group was Ryos," he spat the name. "He told us about a time machine. The Eclipse Gate. He said it could take us back to before the apocalypse and give us a fighting chance to save the world,"

"And it worked!" Grace grinned, before pausing. "Um, right?"

Kynigós' gaze turned dark. "Turns out Ryos didn't plan on saving the world so much as ruling it. Right after we got the Gate open, he killed Asuka and fought the rest of us off for long enough to be the only one to get through. He was going to leave us stranded in a future that was about to stop existing," he grinned.

"He what?!" Natsu roared. "I'm gonna punch him right back into that future!" Gray agreed with a snarl.

"You'll have to get in line," Kynigós assured him, fists clenched. "He didn't count on us managing to get the Gate open a second time. I don't know the details of his plan, but I know he's invented something called Dragon Supremacy Magic. It lets him control the minds of dragons. So I assume that he wants to take control of some of the attacking dragons and establish himself as some kind of tyrant. But yeah, we opened the Gate again and time-travelled back. Me and Zena stayed together, but we got separated from Lucy. The other Lucy, that is," he quickly corrected himself, glancing at the blonde. "Haven't seen her since. But once we arrived, I got in touch with -"

"Me," Arcadios interjected. "For years I've been spearheading an operation to collect the magic power used in the Grand Magic Games with the Eclipse Gate - the same one that Kynigós and Zena used to travel back in time," Kynigós frowned, unsure why Arcadios had stopped him from explaining Princess Hisui's involvement.

"Hold up. You've been using the Eclipse Gate to _farm_ the magic of the wizards competing in the Games?" Gray frowned.

"An inglorious pursuit, but one I felt was worth it for our goal, which was to travel back in time four hundred years and kill the Black Wizard Zeref before he could rise to power," Arcadios explained. "The plan had been proceeding without incident until Ryos arrived some weeks ago, bringing news of the impending apocalypse. However, he failed to inform us of his own evil deeds, and Kynigós both corroborated his story and filled in the blanks for us a week ago. But we should walk and talk. I would quite like to show you the Gate in person," Arcadios explained.

"No, Tyria's still in the caves around here somewhere. We can't just leave her," Pierce argued.

"No sweat," Kynigós assured his double. "Arcadios, Yukino? You two take the Fairies and show off the Gate. Personally, if I never see it again it'll be too soon," he groused. "I'll stick with my friends here, help them find Tyria and make sure they get home safely. See you both later," he waved, moving to join his fellow Phoenixes.

"Sounds reasonable. If you eight would follow me?" Arcadios suggested.

"See you at the finals!" Natsu waved the Phoenixes off. "Best of luck!" Happy agreed.

It wasn't long until the two groups had split. "Okay, so why are you trying to get us away from Fairy Tail?" Sarph asked.

Kynigós blinked, and shrugged. "What makes you think I am?"

"You were a bit too eager to suggest splitting the group," Pierce agreed.

The Hunter ruefully smiled. "Fair enough. No offence to that lot, but from what I've heard they're not the most level-headed group. And there are a couple of details I left out of my story,"

"And that is?" Sarph questioned.

"First of all, Zena, my sort-of-little sister who came back in time with me? She isn't a human," Kynigós clarified.

The Phoenixes mulled this over for a second or two. "You said she was Equivaton's adopted daughter," Sarph recalled.

"You brought a dragon back from the future?!" Pierce gasped, looking excited. "That's amazing!"

"Yeah it is!" Grace confirmed.

"I'm glad you're supportive. Now, you, I trust," Kynigós pointed at Grace, "but those other Dragon Slayers, from what I've heard, fit the job description, and I'm not telling a bunch of strangers that there's a vulnerable baby dragon in the city,"

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't hurt her, but fair enough," Pierce acquiesced.

"And, also," Kynigos continued. "Rogue Cheney, of the Sabretooth guild. You saw him compete today,"

"What about him?" Boomer raised an eyebrow.

"His real name is Ryos Cheney. Rogue is a nickname," There was a moment of silence as the Phoenixes processed this.

"So it's the future version of Rogue who's in the present and plotting world domination," Pierce murmured.

"Should we be worried about present Rogue?" Grace asked.

"Maybe, never met him. Point is . ." Kynigós groaned and sat down on a rock. "I just can't help but wonder, what would happen if I killed the present day Rogue? Would the future one just vanish? Would everything he did be undone?" _Would Asuka come back to life_ , the question hung in the air, unasked but heard.

"That's a train of thought that leads to madness," Sarph cautioned Kynigós.

"Yeah. What if it doesn't work? You'll have killed someone for no reason," Boomer agreed.

"You're right," Kynigós sighed. "I just . . I'm a killer. You all know that. Hell, I could have finally killed a dragon on my last day in the apocalypse. Sometimes, I feel like that's all I'm good at,"

"You _could have_?" Pierce parroted.

"I would have, but the Eclipse Gate was closing, and I didn't have time to take the final shot after knocking it down. I would have, though, and . ." Kynigós paused. "I don't even know if it was because I wanted to, or I didn't know how to do anything else,"

"But you did," Sarph pointed out.

"You left," Pierce agreed. "That proves you don't have to kill to win,"

Kynigós mulled this over. "Maybe," he settled on. "It doesn't change what I would have done, given the chance,"

"Well, if ten thousand dragons are coming, maybe that's not a bad thing," Boomer pointed out, to annoyed glares from Pierce and Grace. "What? If they're going to kill us, we shouldn't sympathise with them,"

"He's right," Kynigós informed his counterpart and his sister. "In the future I went to, the two of you were killed because some dragons used the promise of a peace treaty to bait you both into a trap. Don't make that mistake again,"

"Hold on, what?" Everyone turned to see Tyria approaching them once more. Her quest to find the source of the footprints had met with no results. "Kynigós? Where'd you come from?" the Electrian questioned.

The hunter blinked. "Oh, no, I am not going over all that again. You lot can catch her up on the way home. I'm overdue to check up on Zena," With that, he strode away, in the direction Arcadios had just led the Fairies in.

"Did I miss much?" Tyria cluelessly questioned.

-[CoT]-

It was the night before the final event of the Grand Magic Games. After taking a day to rest, and avoiding the waterpark that Fairy Tail was in the process of demolishing, the wizards of Team Phoenix Eye and Team Black Eye Pirates were ready to bring home the gold and cement Phoenix's Eye as the top guild of Fiore.

"We've got a problem," Feng declared, looking grumpy as she strode into the tavern that Phoenix's Eye was frequenting. The wizards under her command looked at her curiously as Alice, clutching a sheath of papers, followed her.

"Is something wrong?" Lync, ever the attentive boyfriend, questioned.

"Because of the Battle Royale format of the final event, the judges thought it would be too easy for either Fairy Tail or Phoenix's Eye's combined total members to team up into an unstoppable group. So we've been instructed to disband both of our teams and build a new one," Feng explained.

"What?!" everyone exclaimed, shocked. "Bullshit!" Hare crowed.

"If it's any consolation, Fairy Tail has to do the same," Feng clarified.

"What about our point count?" Sarph frowned.

"We get to keep the higher one, so that's some small mercy," the Master shrugged. "And another bit of relatively good news," Everyone paused. "For the final event, they're letting one reserve member from each team participate in addition to the main five team members. So we're going to have six wizards competing, not five,"

"But who?" Pierce questioned.

Master Feng just smiled. "Who indeed?"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Okay, so this was supposed to be a chapter about what happened between the end of Day 4 and the beginning of the finals, but** ** _oh my god the caves scene ran so long_** **. . eh. To be honest much of Phoenix's Eye wouldn't enjoy the water-park anyway. Grace might - come to think of it I really have not explored how her powers function underwater, that's something to keep in mind going forward.**

 **Don't bother Googling Arashi Deta or anything, they are an original character. I didn't much like Zirconis and wanted to deviate from the plot some more . . so we have another OC dragon!**

 **Fairy Tail: 48**

 **Lamia Scale: 43**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 40**

 **Sabertooth: 39**

 **Mermaid Heel: 30**

 **Blue Pegasus: 23**

-[CoT]-

"Aberforth! Aberforth, wake up!" The Assassin roused, hearing one of his oldest friends call to him. "Blaster?"

"Yes, Aberforth, it's me, Blaster," his gun spoke in the voice that he knew only he could hear. "We've wasted enough time on your vengeance, we need to get out of here,"

"Alright," For some reason all of his weapons were in a pile in front of him, and he gathered them up before breaking open the cell door. "You're right. It's time to go,"


	41. OT8: Firework (Katy Perry)

Chapter 111: OT8: Firework (Katy Perry)

 _Do you ever feel like a plastic bag_

Domus Flau is empty, the stands abandoned and colourless.

 _Drifting through the wind_

The camera pans in to the Sabretooth bay, which lights up with golden light that forms into the Sabretooth crest.

 _Wanting to start again_

The camera pans left, lighting up the Fairy Tail B bay, then reaching Lamia Scale, before panning to Mermaid Heel.

 _Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin_

The camera passes Fairy Tail A, Phoenix's Eye A, Blue Pegasus, and finally reaches the Black Eye Pirates bay, which glows black and brings up a smoky Phoenix's Eye symbol.

 _Like a house of cards_

Team Black Eye Pirates emerges from the bay, and the camera pans out and upwards.

 _One blow from caving in_

All eight teams of the GMG are together in the courtyard, facing each other.

 _Do you ever feel already buried deep_

Suddenly the camera is underground, and Faraday looks at the bones of Arashi Deta.

 _Six feet under, scream_

She plants her four staffs in the ground around herself.

 _But no one seems to hear a thing_

Then she kneels and takes off her hood, revealing bright green hair.

 _Do you know that there's still a chance for you_

Kynigós perches on Hisui's balcony, before climbing down and walking inside.

 _'Cause there's a spark in you_

He pulls up a chair and sits down with Hisui, Arcadios and Zena to have dinner. Blackboards in the background show plans for defeating the incoming dragons.

 _You just gotta ignite the light_

Tyria yells, matching Orga blow for blow as lightning flies around them in the arena. She leaps up, manifests her Mark III wings and charges a Redacted Variable Hyperlaser, before her image freezes in mid-air. Kenzie appears behind her in hybrid form, striking at Minerva before also freezing.

 _And let it shine_

The seven colour-coded incarnations of Grace' Transdimensional Convergence Spell materialise, prepared to strike at Laxus, while Boomer appears in the Sonic Boom, which is readying a Mega-Bass. They also freeze and join Tyria and Kenzie.

 _Just own the night_

Artorias comes crashing down with the horns, claws and localised tornado of his Bloodlust state, while Sarph swoops upwards with «Tenshi Meiyo» at the ready. Their images freeze and are pushed back to join the others.

 _Like the Fourth of July_

Pierce rises in front of the group, hands on his hips, and takes a place at the centre. Suddenly, blue fire washes over the screen and hides them all from view.

 _'Cause baby you're a firework_

Raya dodges a lunge from Poscylla and soars upwards, spreading her wings wide.

 _Come on show 'em what you're worth_

The magic circle of Neutralisation Neostorm soars above her and explodes, raining electrified smog downwards.

 _Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

On the ground, Sarph lunges with «Tenshi Meiyo», launching three strikes with his sword that throw energy waves across the arena.

 _As you shoot across the sky-y-y_

Jashie lands and deflects each wave with a sword of negative energy, before Neutralisation Neostorm hits the ground and covers the screen.

 _Baby you're a firework_

Ariel stands atop Domus Flau, watching it all, with blue energy crackling around her hands.

 _Come on let your colors burst_

A spectral dragon of red energy appears before her, and she raises her arms and blasts it with blue energy, shaking her head.

 _Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

Teams Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and Sabretooth all appear in red, one by one.

 _You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down down down_

The team of Blue Pegasus, as well as both teams of Fairy Tail and Phoenix's Eye, appear over them in blue.


	42. CT8: Hero (Skillet)

Chapter 112: CT8: Hero (Skillet)

 _I'm just a step away_

Faraday stands on the apex of a large rock, suspended above a raging river of blue and white lights.

 _I'm just a breath away_

A red streak shoots through the blue, and it surges upwards, lapping at her feet.

 _Losin' my faith today_

The stream surges upwards again, engulfing her and dragging her away.

 _(Fallin' off the edge today)_

Faraday almost vanishes beneath the current, before the claw of Arashi Deta drags her out and to safety.

 _I am just a man_

As Masquerade and Kagura clash, Aberforth watches them.

 _Not superhuman_

Silhouetted members of Phoenix's Eye leer at Tyria, who is kneeling in the middle of the group.

 _(I'm not superhuman)_

She is anguished, sobbing and apologising.

 _Someone save me from the hate_

Minerva glowers over Domus Flau with eyes that are concealed by shadows and an evil smile.

 _It's just another war_

Kynigós and Zena stand on one side of a frozen image, Equivaton and Asuka on the other.

 _Just another family torn_

The half with Equivaton and Asuka is ripped away, turns red, and is swallowed by Ryos' darkness.

 _(Falling from my faith today)_

Suddenly Ryos is falling into an abyss, which flickers and turns red, bleaching out all other colours.

 _Just a step from the edge_

The camera leaves him and shoots up to a nearby cliff, where Kynigós is balanced on the edge, looking down.

 _Just another day in the world we live_

Hisui grabs his shoulder and spins him around, and Kynigós smiles at her.

I need a hero to save me now

The wall of Domus Flau explodes as Boomer drives the Sonic Boom into the arena. Ice erupts in front of him as Lyon freezes him in his tracks.

 _I need a hero (save me now)_

Grace leaps out of a distortion and roars as Laxus, and the camera pans away to see Orga and Tyria simultaneously punching at each other.

 _I need a hero to save my life_

Jashie and Eishaj throw Neutralisation Neostorm into the air, and it erupts, engulfing everyone. Everything goes dark, until a burst of Archive Magic clears it away.

 _A hero'll save me (just in time)_

The members of all eight teams stand together in he arena, with the Phoenix's Eye symbol hanging above them,

-[CoT]-

"Excuse me?" Kagura, leader of Team Mermaid Heel, looked up to see a teenager with dark blue hair who she didn't recognise and had somehow gotten into her room without making a sound.

In an instant, Archenemy was out and ready. "Who are you?" the swordswoman hissed.

The newcomer pouted. "Don't you remember? I'm Asakura. I've been part of your guild for years,"

"You . ." Kagura frowned. Something seemed wrong with that statement . . but she couldn't bring herself to refute it. She returned Archenemy to her hip, frowning as sudden memories of spending time with Asakura surfaced in her mind. She was always strangely cheerful, and didn't talk about herself much, and her magic was strong enough to rival Kagura's . . but she definitely knew Asakura. What had she been thinking a few moments ago?

"Miss Kagura?" Asakura questioned in the sweetest tone possible. "Is everything alright?"

"I . . I'm fine, Asakura. I just had the strangest feeling of déjà vu . . what are you doing up so late? The final event of the Grand Magic Games is tomorrow. You did hear that, as our reserve member, you have to compete in this one, right?"

"I know. Just wanted to make sure everything was alright with you before I went to bed," Asakura assured her. "Goodnight!"


	43. Battle Royal

Chapter 113: Battle Royal

"We've got a problem!" Hisui exclaimed.

Kynigós, Lucy and Zeta paused in the middle of breakfast. "What's up?" the hunter asked.

"It's Dalton,"

Lucy and Kynigós exchanged mystified glances. "Who?"

Hisui sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's right, you never met . . Prime Minister Dalton is in charge of the bureaucracy that keeps Fiore running. He's second in political power only to the King himself,"

"What did he do?" Lucy asked.

"He found out about the Eclipse Gate, and that we were planning to use it. But he doesn't know about the dragons, he thinks we're still going back to kill Zeref. He intercepted Fairy Tail and Arcadios right in front of the Gate and subdued them, and he's imprisoned the current Lucy and Yukino in the dungeons," Hisui recapped, doing her best to remain collected.

"Ash-hole," Zeta suddenly piped up, evoking chuckles from Kynigós and Lucy. "And Arcadios?" Kynigós pressed.

"Has been thrown into the Palace of Perdition," At the blank stares this was met with, Hisui clarified; "The caves under Crocus. They're the roaming grounds of the Hungry Wolf Knights, the royal executioners. The Knights like to release prisoners into the caves and hunt them down for sport," Lucy looked shocked.

"The caves, eh?" Kynigós stood, shouldering his hunter's pack. "I went down there last week, looking for dragons. I'll get him,"

"No," Hisui shook her head. "I wish it were that simple, but I need to keep you in reserve. And I've already got a plan to get Fairy Tail to rescue him,"

"Those clowns? Please," Kynigós rolled his eyes, but sat regardless. "I guess if you really think they'd do a better job than me . ." He wasn't entirely sure why it hurt that Hisui trusted Fairy Tail more than him.

"They're going to launch a rescue operation for me," Lucy confirmed, looking up. "The past version of me. I remember. It happened last time around, we rescued Arcadios and escaped the Palace of Perdition, back into Mercurius,"

"And?" Kynigós looked interested.

"And then we got swarmed by Dalton's guards and thrown back into the cells. By the time we got out again, the dragons had arrived," Lucy looked haunted, thinking of it. Kynigós snapped his fingers. "So you didn't see where they came from either. Shit," He sighed. "Hate to say it, but we want tough guys like Fairy Tail out and kicking ass when the dragons come. We can't let you all get captured again,"

"Do you have something in mind?" Hisui questioned.

"Yeah I do," Kynigós confirmed. "We're gonna go meet Fairy Tail and sneak them out of the palace,"

A smile tugged at Hisui's lips. "Alright then. I'll monitor the situation on all fronts. I'm also curious to know if the predictions Ryos made about the conclusion of the Grand Magic Games will come true,"

"And what were those?" Kynigós asked, mildly interested.

-[CoT]-

"Welcome, one and all, to the grand finale of the X791 Grand Magic Games!" Chapati narrated.

As the announcers introduced the event, Master Feng Chriona faced the team that she had selected. "Alright, everyone. Today's the day. We're in third place right now. Let's make that first place by the end of the day,"

Six heads nodded.

"But first, it's time to see the thirty-six wizards who will compete in the grand finale of the Grand Magic Games! First, we'll see the team in first place; Fairy Tail!"

Phoenix's Eye watched as Grey Fullbuster, Laxus Dreyar, Juvia Lockser, Gajeel Redfox, Ezra Scarlet, and Elfman Strauss strode onto the battlefield. They paused at the edge of the massive crater that Natsu and Gajeel had opened up on the previous day.

"What? Where's Natsu?" Pierce questioned in disbelief.

"Next up is our second-place team; Lamia Scale!" Jura Neekis, Jashie and Eishaj Tron, Lyon Vastia, Chelia Blendy, and Yuka Suzuki all stepped out of their bay.

"We're up next," Pierce told his team, and they nodded.

"And now we'll bring out our third-place team, Phoenix's Eye!"

Pierce Blastreyne led the way out into the intact rim of arena. Tyria Zechtian followed him closely, and Grace Hystia skipped behind them. Kenzie Black swaggered with them, flaunting her assets to the crowd, while Sarph and Artorias brought up the rear.

"Damnit, I wanted to compete," Boomer protested from the stands.

"Speak for yourself," Hare shrugged dispassionately.

"Sorry, Boomer," Alice shook her head. "You're at a disadvantage without the Sonic Boom, and everyone on the other teams know about the Sonic Boom after your fight on day 2. It'd be too easy for them to set a trap for you,"

"I get that. But still," the Sound wizard sighed.

"And Kenzie is stronger than you," Hare sniggered. "She's stronger than you too, remember?" Boomer snorted.

"In fourth place, we have the former champions who've been very effectively dethroned, Sabretooth!" Sting Eucliffe, Ryos "Rogue" Cheney, Minerva Orland, Rufus Lore, and Orga Nanageer emerged onto the remnants of the field, accompanied by a brown-haired young man who seemed to be dressed like a ninja. "Joined by replacement substitute member, Dobengal," Chapati added as an afterthought, realising the crowd was unfamiliar with the new wizard.

"And lastly, the teams in fifth and sixth place, Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus!" Kagura Mikazuchi, Arana Webb, Beth Vanderwood, Risley Law, Millianna and an unfamiliar woman entered the arena, while Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, Nichiya (no longer wearing the rabbit suit), Hibiki Lates, Ren Akatsuki, Eve Tearm and Jenny Realight entered from Blue Pegasus.

"Who's the new girl?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Hi everyone! I'm Asakura Ryoko, substitute member of Mermaid Heel! It's so great to be here!" the young woman with dark blue hair beamed before Chapati could get a word out, smiling and waving. "Uh, yes. Asakura, everybody," the spokesperson confirmed. "She's certainly quite cheerful," Yajima observed.

From Phoenix's Eye's bay, Ariel stiffened, watching the newcomer with a displeased look in her eyes. She silently mouthed; "What's _she_ doing here?" Pausing as a thought occurred to her, she span and strode out of the bay, a stormy look on her face.

Meanwhile, everyone was raring to go. "And now, let the Grand Magic Game begin!" Chapati shouted, spreading his arms. With flashes of light, each of the six teams was teleported to random locations across Crocus. "Game on!" he roared.

-[CoT]-

"Okay, everyone, we have an advantage that most of the other teams don't," Pierce pointed out.

"What's that?" Grace asked, and the group leader gestured to himself, Sarph, Grace and Tyria. "Out of the six of us, four of us can fly. Five if Artorias does that thing from day two with the tornado,"

"I'd rather keep my Bloodlust in reserve for when I face a strong opponent today," Artorias primly replied.

"And don't you lot worry about me. I already have a strategy in the works," Kenzie grinned at her teammates, knowing that she was the only one present unable to fly by herself and not letting it bother her for even a second, before spinning and dashing off.

The other five Phoenixes watched her go. "I've got a score to settle too," Tyria frowned. "That Orga guy is going _down_ ,"

Pierce nodded. "We should stick together, though," he pointed out. "Grace, go after Kenzie. You should be able to catch up with her," he instructed.

"You got it!" Grace saluted, before vanishing into a rippling space.

"Artorias, Sarph. You two, don't stray too far from each other. See if you can rack us up some points by picking off the weaker wizards from Blue Pegasus and Mermaid Heel. Tyria, I'll back you up against Orga. Let's go!" Pierce declared, picking a direction and charging off.

Tyria grinned and followed him, and Sarph nodded, smiling. "Yes, team leader,"

Hearing this, Pierce just groaned and rolled his eyes.

-[CoT]-

Sarph was the first to find a fight.

Mere moments after the beginning of the game, he rounded a corner and found himself staring down Beth and Arana of Mermaid Heel. "Aw, crud," Beth gulped, seeing the big man from Phoenix's Eye.

Sarph grinned and charged, slashing straight through Arana's Web magic with a three-hit «Sword Skill», before bringing his sword back and punching her in the gut. The relatively fragile witch crumpled under the blow and collapsed.

Sarph span, searching for Beth, but found she had vanished underground. He dealt another hit to Arana to ensure that she was eliminated, scouring his surroundings. "And Phoenix's Eye draws first blood, with Sarph earning one point for defeating Arana!" _Phoenix's Eye: 41_

-[CoT]-

As Sarph was searching for signs of Beth, Pierce and Tyria found themselves being tracked. With a burst of smoke, Dobengal appeared from a side alleyway with a dagger, flying straight at Tyria. "You're not worthy to fight Orga," he hissed at her, targeting her jugular.

And with lightning reflexes a werewolf flew out of the crack in Pierce's flute and intercepted, pinning him to the ground. "Not on my watch," Knox snarled, pinning him.

"No!" Dobengal protested, writhing in his efforts to break free. But Tyria had realised what was going on. "Nice try," she snorted, and, forming her fist into a massive silver/blue club, she pounded Dobengal into the ground. _Phoenix's Eye: 42_

A few streets over, Kagura, having stumbled across Yuka, eliminated him with ease; even though he could nullify Kagura's Gravity Magic, Yuka could not match her swordswomanship. _Mermaid Heel: 31_

"Already, points are being racked up across the board!" Chapati declared, looking thrilled. "Phoenix's Eye is working to reclaim the lead, and Mermaid Heel hasn't given up yet! But can anyone topple the titans that are Fair - huh?" The screens suddenly showed the Fairy Tail guild. All six members were standing together, eyes closed, unmoving. "What are they doing?"

Alice frowned from the stands. "This wasn't in my plans," she frowned, watching Fairy Tail carefully.

And in another part of the stands, Mavis Vermillion raised a finger. "Operation

With that, the six wizards of Fairy Tail sprung into action.

While this was happening, across town, Jashie and Eishaj cornered a quailing Nichiya. "Just give us our point already," Jashie hissed and blasted the unfortunate Exceed into a wall. _Lamia Scale: 44_

-[CoT]-

"First Master says I'm gonna find the pirate girl by the docks," Elfman recalled as he paced down the road towards the riverside. "I can take her," he grinned.

But as the Take Over Fairy paced down the road, a shrill whistle interrupted his jog. Elfman drew to a halt, looking around. "Who's there?"

"Good morning!" a cheery, upbeat voice interrupted him. Elfman looked up to see a vaguely familiar face who he'd only seen once before gazing at him from a rooftop.

Asakura, the reserve member of Mermaid Heel, cheerfully grinned down at him. Her loose blue hair rippled in the wind, and she peered down at him. "You're from Fairy Tail, right?"

"Yeah!" Elfman declared.

With a flying leap, Asakura sprang lightly from the rooftop and landed on the balls of her feet before Elfman. "Good to know. I suppose that I oughtn't kill you, then," she smiled at the larger man looming over her.

The Fairy blinked. "I'd like to see you try," he retorted, raising his arms.

Over in the stands, Mavis frowned. "Asakura . . she's Mermaid Heel's reserve member, but she hasn't competed at all these Games. I have no idea what she's capable of or how she fights, or even how she thinks," the First Master observed, looking worried.

"If she feels confident enough in her magic to challenge Elfman, she's probably nothing to sneeze at," Makarov added.

Asakura's eyes lit up at Elfman's words with a mixture of mischief and malice. "Alright!" She raised her arms, and suddenly, both Asakura and Elfman, as well as a significant portion of the sidewalk around them, including a bench and a lamppost, vanished, leaving a twenty-foot-diameter hole in the street.

Everyone blinked at this. "Whoa! The unknown Asakura from Mermaid Heel seems to have teleported herself and Elfman away somewhere! What sort of magic is this?"

"That wasn't spatial magic," Mavis murmured, looking worried. "At least, not a sort that I've ever seen,"

"Elfman's gonna be okay, right?" Lisanna gulped from nearby.

A moment passed, and, suddenly, the two wizards reappeared. But obviously something had happened while they were gone. The ground around them had been warped, pavestones twisted into stalagmite-like formations, the lamppost had been turned upside-down and embedded into the ground at an angle, seeming partially melted, the wooden bench had somehow, impossibly, been twisted into a circular shape and wrapped around - "Elfman!" Lisanna gasped, seeing her brother comatose and trapped, with his head dangerously close to the sharp end of what had once been a lamppost.

Asakura, by contrast, seemed as though Elfman had not even touched her, still wearing that same morbidly cheerful smile. "Alright, so it's been established that I could kill you if I so chose. Told you so. You have a nice day now," she waved before sidling away, heedless of the carnage that had been wrought.

Chapati stammered, dumbfounded. "I, I, ah . . that's a point for Mermaid Heel," _Mermaid Heel: 32_

Moments later, Rufus, perched atop a spire in town, raised his sword and cast. "Memory Make: A Night of Falling Stars!"

"Dodge!" Mavis and Alice shouted at the same time. Fairy Tail avoided the attacks, and Laxus swallowed it whole. Phoenix's Eye followed suit, all avoiding the attack with no trouble thanks to Alice's warning - with the exception of Tyria.

As soon as she saw the lightning attack in the sky, Tyria cast. "TechType: Lightning Rod!" A modified version of her TechType: Helmet appeared over her head with two long, horn-like prongs protruding, and the lightning striking at both her and Pierce was attracted to each of the prongs and coursed into her body.

"Tyria?!" Pierce gasped, concerned.

Tyria turned and grinned, lightning flashing over the red visor covering her eyes. "I'm fine. This is the spell I created to counter Orga. As long as I keep this active, any lightning that hits me only makes me stronger,"

Unfortunately, Risley of Mermaid Heel wasn't able to dodge in time, and Hibiki sacrificed himself to push Eve out of the way, taking a double hit and being knocked down for the count. _Sabretooth: 41_

-[CoT]-

A little ways across town, the lacrima-cameras found Kenzie and Grace at the docks.

"Are you sure that you should be fighting near the water? Don't you go all limp in contact with salt water?" Grace asked the pirate, worried.

"Well, yes, but this area has another benefit," Kenzie strode past a frigate and gestured to the ship moored beyond it.

"The _Fowl Iris_?" Grace gasped.

"I had the boys move it before they went to the arena. Here, I have the home field advantage," Kenzie strode up the gangplank and onto the deck of her ship, before sliding it back into the ship and throwing off a mooring rope. The Fowl Iris immediately began to drift out towards the centre of the river. "You coming?!" Kenzie shouted at Grace, who nodded, vanishing into a pocket of reality.

The lacrima screens in the arena changed to show the pirate ship. "Wow! Kenzie and Grace from Phoenix's Eye seem to be taking a very defensive position! This might make it harder for their enemies to take them out, but I don't see how they plan to earn any points from out on the water!"

"I see one, cap'n!" Grace, putting on a mock pirate voice, gestured to the shoreline, noticing that Jenny - no doubt trying to pick a battle of beauty with Kenzie - was watching them in disbelief.

"Fire!" Kenzie commanded, and Grace nodded, ripping open a bend in space. "Reality Dragon's Roar!" she shrieked, and a blast of grey energy struck Jenny from behind and knocked her straight into the river.

". . I'm just going to go eat my words now. Point to Phoenix's Eye," Chapati weakly admitted. _Phoenix's Eye: 43_

-[CoT]-

As this happened, Gajeel and Grey blindsided Ren and Eve, eliminating the two surviving members of the Trimens and earning two more points for Fairy Tail. _Fairy Tail: 50_

"I'm the only one left of Blue Pegasus? Already?" Ichiya complained, looking around warily.

"That's not a status you can lay claim to for long," Ichiya looked up to see Jura Neekis approaching him. The man stiffened.

"I'm sorry about this, old friend," the Wizard Saint offered with a kindly smile. "But I need these points. As none of your teammates were worth five points, I'll assume you are the leader of Blue Pegasus' team,"

"I am! But if you think I'll go down without a fight -" Ichiya was interrupted by a burst of blood that splattered him against a nearby wall. A blast of Archive magic was added on top, knocking him into unconsciousness.

Jura turned to see who had attacked, seeing Artorias and Sarph standing together at the mouth of a nearby street. "And a surprise attack from two of Phoenix's Eye's best puts Blue Pegasus out of the running and earns Phoenix's Eye five points, tying them up with Fairy Tail in first place!" _Phoenix's Eye: 48_

"Let me guess, you two think that if you work together, you can defeat me," Jura guessed.

"I estimate a 67% chance of success," Sarph nodded, striding out to face him.

"Very well, then. Let's begin," Jura declared.

"Cover me," the knight told Artorias, before dashing forward, bringing his sword to bear. Artorias rolled his eyes. Sarph had already discussed his strategy for dealing with Jura in depth while they were seeking him out; Sarph would occupy his attention while Artorias attacked from behind and kept him off-balance. Artorias would have objected to Sarph placing himself front and centre, if not for the fact that, to borrow Alfheimic terminology, Sarph was a tank and he was melee DPS.

Jura caught his sword. Not with magic. His palms lanced out and pressed the blade between his fingers. "Iron Rock Spikes!" he declared, and Sarph leapt sideways, pulling «Tenshi Meiyo» with him as a rock spike shot from the ground where he had been standing a second ago.

Jura swung a crushing fist at Sarph's jaw, which the knight carefully blocked. But Artorias was suddenly behind him, striking the back of Jura's neck and sending him stumbling forwards. The Wizard Saint hastily disengaged, moving back to place both Phoenixes in his line of vision once again.

"Get ready," Sarph instructed, before charging and bringing «Tenshi Meiyo» back for an overhead strike. This time, Jura raised a wall of rock from the ground to block him, knowing that if he let Sarph draw him into an engagement again, Artorias would strike him from behind again.

But then there was a resounding impact, and his rock splintered and broke, somehow smashed through by the force of Sarph's . . _shield bash_.

Sarph was holding a shield.

Made of probably hundreds of golden Archive screens, all folded and meshed together, it was a curved rectangle, not dissimilar to a smaller version of Mars' tower shield. Jura was shocked, which was enough time for Sarph to launch into a four-strike Sword Skill that battered the man and knocked him back.

"I may not be a demigod, I may not have a supercharged car, and I can't even lead a team. But I didn't spend the last three months doing nothing!" Sarph declared.

"A shield won't save you," Jura declared, pressing his palm to the ground. "Rumbling Mt. Fuji!" he cast, making the sidewalk's cracks glow with volcanic light.

Sarph, having studied Jura's spell, knew what was coming; a volcanic eruption. "Artorias!" he shouted, crouching and pressing his shield to the ground. "Switch!"

"Bleeding Tsunami!" the Blood Wizard roared, launching forwards with a wash of blood that filled the street with red liquid, as Sarph's shield swelled to a massive size, covering the volcanic cracks.

"Iron-Rock Pillar!" Jura cast, doing his best to lift himself out for the way of the massive wave that Artorias had conjured above the roofs. In the same moment that Jura's Mt. Fuji Spell erupted, the wave crashed down, smashing through the pillar - weakened from being made from the same rock that was about to explode - and splintered Sarph's magic shield to pieces. Lava met blood as Sarph was blown backwards, and Artorias, carrying himself through the undertow, found his partner and pulled him to the surface, moments after Jura vanished into the torrent.

Submerged in blood, Jura hit the ground and ripped it asunder, opening a massive fissure that the blood rapidly drained into. Commanding it telekinetically, Artorias spat himself and Sarph out, throwing them both onto a nearby rooftop.

Jura stood, ready to face his opponents, only to find the street empty. He paused, looking at the fissure. "Did they get swept in?"

"No," Artorias' soft voice echoed through the street. "Rest. I'll take him," he commanded Sarph, and was gone before the knight could object.

"Rise, my Bloodlust!" Artorias howled, long, twisted horns appearing from a congealed crown on his brow, sharp bloody claws taking form on his fingers, and he struck at Jura with lightning-like speed, too fast for the Saint to dodge. Jura stumbled backwards, trying to protect his face, but Artorias bowled him over, flipping onto his feet behind Jura while keeping hold of the Saint's collarbone, before twisting the larger man in mid-air and slamming him onto the ground. "I am the weeping Phoenix who sheds tears of blood," he began.

"I don't much care for monologues!" In spite of his disadvantageous position, Jura punched him in the stomach, and Artorias stumbled backwards, before catching himself by summoning a whirlwind of blood around his legs.

Jura jackknifed to his feet, raising his arms and making to clasp them together as he roared; "Iron Mount- erk!" His arms had frozen, centimetres from the clapped together position he needed them to be in for his Iron Mountain spell.

Artorias' arms were raised, with magic circles around them as he visibly struggled with the force of holding Jura's arms apart. "As it rains down destruction," he murmured through gritted teeth. "upon its . . . foes!" He snapped his fingers.

And Jura's arms snapped.

The Wizard Saint screamed, both in pain and shock, staring at his suddenly-broken arms. Gritting his own teeth in turn, he advanced on Artorias, intent on continuing the fight - but then a heavy blunt blow hit his head from behind.

Looking dazed, Jura fell to the ground, and the Blood wizard smiled to see Sarph behind him, having struck Jura with the flat of «Tenshi Meiyo». _Phoenix's Eye: 53_

"Did we win?" Artorias asked.

"The scoreboard dinged. I think we're in the clear," the older S-Class replied. "I didn't know you could control the blood inside someone's body,"

"I couldn't, not until recently," Artorias smiled. "Impressive, isn't it?"

"I'm glad to call you my comrade," Sarph assured him. "Now, let's catch our breath. I'd rather not fight another opponent in this state,"

-[CoT]-

Grace stiffened. "Cap'n?" she called, looking around for Kenzie and finding the pirate leaning on the figurehead. "I sense something . . weird,"

"What's wrong?" Kenzie called, picking herself up.

And then, with a flicker, she vanished into thin air.

Grace started. "Kenzie?!" she gasped, dropping the mock pirate voice.

There was a faint noise, and then something hit the deck. Grace leapt back from the projectile as it straightened up, dark hair falling around a sallow and remorseless face.

"Oh yes. You'll do _nicely_ ," Minerva smirked cruelly, before raising a hand. "Disappear!"

And, suddenly, Grace was somewhere else. She gasped, looking around, but finding herself suspended, floating in a bubble of some kind, hundreds of metres above Crocus. Peering down, she could just about make out the _Fowl Iris_ far below her. Grace balled her fists and opened a rift.

A second later, the clouds parted to reveal Kenzie, Millianna and Lector all trapped in similar bubbles. "So do either of you know what's going on?" the pirate questioned.

"I've been here for ages, I'm hungry," Lector complained.

Back on the _Fowl Iris_ , their captor was looking altogether too pleased with herself. "Some nice hostages are exactly the edge I need on that Blood Wizard and the knight," Minerva mused to herself, striding towards the edge of the _Fowl Iris_.

And then Grace, roaring "Reality Dragon's Pronged Plumage!" emerged from a rift and headbutted the Sabretooth straight off the ship. Minerva was so surprised that she barely caught herself before hitting the water, teleporting back onto the deck. "You - how did you break through my skyspace lock?" she demanded.

"What lock? I just moved reality around and jumped straight back here," Grace shrugged.

Minerva growled. "You . . little . . fine, I'll beat you the old-fashioned way," she declared, raising her hands.

Grace paused, before having an idea. "Come and get me!" she declared. Snorting in mild amusement, Minerva charged forwards, intending to _break that annoying little fake dragon slayer's pathetic little neck_ -

And suddenly she was a hundred feet in the air.

Grace grinned and closed the rift which she had opened in Minerva's path that had replaced a specific patch of the deck with the open sky above, and waited for the screams with a cheeky grin.

Spinning in mid-air, Minerva caught the massive, furled sails of the Fowl Iris and tore them open, letting the falling canvas cushion her descent. She slid to the mast, caught the rigging and steadied herself, looking down -

"Reality Dragon's Roar!" A torrent of grey energy washed over Minerva, beating and battering at her, but she stayed strong, projecting her magic over her body to shield herself from the blow. And then, suddenly, she was falling again, and realised a moment too late that Grace hadn't been hitting her, but shredding the ropes she was holding onto.

The greenette giggled as Minerva hit the water with a _splash_. "I've never fought another Spatial magic user before. This is fun!"

And suddenly the wet witch was standing before her, looking furious. Drops of water from her hair splattered the deck. "Fun?!" she spat, folding her arms. "You think this is fun?!"

Grace paused, as something suddenly occurred to her. "Hey, wait. I thought that witches _melted_ when they touched salt water?"

Minerva blinked in disbelief. "You . . how on earth did a gang of jokers and losers like your guild even get into the Grand Magic Games?" she spluttered. "And how are you - how _can_ you be beating us? You. Should. Be. _LOSING!"_ she roared, towering over her with a mad spark in her eyes. "I am the best! Sabretooth is the best! All the rest of you weak, lousy, pathetic little guilds are nothing compared to us! You should be on your knees, begging me to make your defeat swift and spare your miserable life, not - not making _jokes_!"

Grace blinked and took a wary step back. "Um . . I think you need to relax," she suggested. "It's just a game. Sure, the winner gets a lot of money, but that's what jobs are for, too, so it's really not worth -"

"To hell with the goddamn money!" Minerva stamped her foot so hard she broke a hole in the deck, and carefully put her foot down a few inches over. "This is about reputation! About pride! About proving that we are the strongest wizards in the world!"

The Dragon Slayer gulped. "Um . . that's not how you're supposed to play the -"

"Go away!" Minerva shrieked like a banshee, and suddenly Grace was twenty feet underwater. Reacting on instinct, Grace tore open a rift beneath her to lead back into open air, intending to drop into it. Unfortunately, it only took the river a second to realise that the newly opened portal did not, in fact, have more water on the other side of it, and it sought to rectify this atrocity.

Grace was delivered back onto the deck along with three cubic litres of water. Minerva span and growled as the Phoenix picked herself up and frowned. "That was very rude!"

Minerva lunged for her. "Get out of my sight!" she roared, leaving cracks in the wood underfoot as she channelled all of her magic into boosting her physical strength, reaching out with grasping fingers and fully intending to strangle the life from Grace's lungs.

And then she tripped, hitting the ground with a thunk.

Grace blinked. "Huh?" But she grinned as a blue and green phantasm flitted up from the docks. "Quarla!"

"Don't 'Quarla' me, young lady," the avian yokai frowned, before pausing. "Look . . last time we were together, I said and did some things that maybe weren't completely justifi -"

The yokai's semblance of an apology was interrupted by a vengeful Sabretooth reaching out and grasping her ectoplasmic form, crushing her in her fist. "Now a _yokai_?" Minerva seethed, staring at Quarla's lithe form.

"I think the apology will have to wait. Reality Dragon's Transcendental Fist!" With fingers cloaked in grey energy, Grace leapt up and punched Minerva straight in the chin, sending her head twisting back as though a rubber band had just snapped taut. The force of the blow caused Minerva to relinquish her grasp on Quarla, and the rather squashed yokai was about to fall to the ground, until Grace caught her. "You can apologise later! Right now, how about we go for round 2?" the Phoenix suggested, and the falcon nodded approval.

"What are you - no!" Minerva lunged forwards, but Quarla had already plunged into Grace's chest.

Her «Dragonwing Dress'» twin trailing ruffs glowed as excess magic flowed into them, and lengthened, coating themselves with green feathers and becoming long, semi-prehensile tendrils, quickly accompanied by several blue/green tailfeathers from the small of her back. Her left arm tingled, before erupting with blue feathers that coated her shoulder down to her forearm, while her hand became scaled and grew into avian talons. The colours of the world became more vibrant to their eyes, and Quarla spread her bruised ectoplasm through the shell of Grace's body, happy to be able to fight their opponent with something more corporeal.

"Just die already!" Minerva roared, lunging for them with lightning-like speed and punching the merged pair in the stomach. Gasping, Quarla flew back, immediately sucking air into Grace's lungs to replace what had just been lost, and Grace was ready with a rift, catching them in mid-air and throwing them into the sky.

At the apex of their climb, Quarla adjusted the position of their body. "You aren't the only one who's been coming up with new tricks these past months," she darkly smiled, and flew back through the rippling patch of bent space, twirling and throwing up the wing-like ribbons of flesh from their back as well as their arms. "Reality Dragon's Feathered Frenzy!" they shrieked, spinning like a hurricane towards the witch and battering her with all six limbs.

But Minerva grabbed their arm. "That's what's predictable about you Dragon Slayers," she hissed, before throwing the lighter wizard over her shoulder and slamming them into the ground of the ship like a sack of potatoes. "You all," With another whirl, Grace's face met the deck again. "Focus," Minerva span again, lifting Quarla into the air and slamming her borrowed skull into the wood. "On melee!" This time, Minerva struck the deck with Grace's bruised face so hard that she smashed straight through it, falling through into the crew quarters below.

"I don't wanna serve the Prince, he's a prick," Quarla semi-coherently mumbled as Minerva jumped through the hole and landed before the two. "This is more like it," she nodded in satisfaction, looking at Grace's puffy and bruised face. "Now, where were we? Oh yes. Hostages," she smirked, snapping her fingers. Grace and Quarla both instantly vanished.

 _Sabretooth: 43_

-[CoT]-

"Where are you, you damn God Slayer?!" Tyria demanded. She and Pierce had been roaming Crocus for a while now, and since Dobengal, nothing had happened.

Unbeknownst to them, Gray was clashing with Rufus in the library - _Fairy Tail: 51_ \- at that moment. But trouble was afoot in the vicinity of the Phoenixes as well.

"Hello, you two!" Pierce paused, hearing a voice from nearby. He and Tyria turned to see a bluenette approaching with a jaunty skip in her step and a cheerful smile.

"You're Asakura, right?" Tyria frowned. "The Mermaid Heel reserve member,"

"Yep! Pleasure to meet you!" Asakura beamed, moving towards them with a series of sashaying, dance-like motions. "Hey, quick open question for the both of you,"

Pierce stepped forwards, putting himself between Tyria and the prospective assailant. "Shoot,"

"You two don't mind dying today, do you?" The nonchalance with which the other bluenette spoke belayed her choice of topic.

After a moment of silence, Pierce held up an arm. "Tyria, let me take her. You need to save your strength for fighting Orga," he instructed.

"Sure, but no promises if you're in trouble," Tyria retorted.

"Does that work for you?" Pierce's tone was guarded, but level. "Don't touch Tyria unless you beat me?"

"Deal," Asakura pleasantly agreed. "Does that mean you're okay with dying?"

"Well, call me selfish, but I honestly would prefer to live," Pierce shrugged. "Still, you have to beat me first. Alright, shall we do this?"

"Sure!" the Mermaid cheerfully smiled, reaching up with her right hand, seemingly grasping something invisible in mid-air, and squeezing.

And, before Tyria's eyes, a massive circular section of the world, centred on Asakura and just barely enveloping Pierce without touching her, vanished.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **I am so evil, leaving you all with a cliffhanger like that.**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 53**

 **Fairy Tail: 51**

 **Sabertooth: 43**

 **Lamia Scale: 43**

 **Mermaid Heel: 32**

 **Blue Pegasus: 23**

 **Peace!**


	44. Take Over, Twice Over

Chapter 114: Take Over, Twice Over

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _"Alright, shall we do this?" Pierce asked._

 _"Sure!" Asakura cheerfully smiled, reaching up with her right hand, seemingly grasping something invisible in mid-air, and squeezing._

 _And, before Tyria's eyes, a massive circular section of the world, centred on Asakura and just barely enveloping Pierce without touching her, vanished._

 _-[CoT]-_

"But the points go to me," Minerva cruelly smiled, standing over Kagura's bloodied body. The unconscious forms of Millianna, Grace and Kenzie all lay behind her. _Sabretooth: 49_

Erza growled. "You won't get away with that,"

-[CoT]-

"Come in!" Ariel screamed. She was standing in a storage closet, before a blue screen floating in mid-air. The screen was occupied by a pair of spinning arrows, indicating something was loading.

After a moment, the screen cleared, and Ariel was confronted with a familiar youthful face framed with black hair. "Oh. Hello, Yui," she greeted the young girl, surprised to see that Yui had been rostered on for call duty.

"Good morning!" Yui smiled, before pausing and assuming what Ariel supposed was supposed to be a professional look. However, it really just made her look like a little girl playing at being a businesswoman. "How may I assist you?"

"What on Earth Land is that psychopath Asakura doing here?" Ariel demanded.

"Asakura?" The young girl repeated in confusion. "Um . . oh yeah, I heard about this. Cardinal thought that with the Dragon King Festival on the horizon, you might need some added help. Especially if the Canopy decides to interfere,"

Ariel pinched her nose. "I understand that. But, Asakura? Of all the blue TFEI, why did it have to be _her_?"

"I guess she is top ranked in combat, among us blues, anyway," Yui shrugged. "You know that I can't actually do anything about it," She cupped her hands to her mouth and glanced furtively around, as though worried that Asakura could somehow hear her, and whispered; "She scares me too,"

Ariel groaned. "I'm just worried we'll have a repeat of the incident with Kyon a couple of years back,"

"Don't worry. Yuki's there too, right? I'm sure that if it comes down to it, the two of you can keep her under control," Yui pointed out.

Ariel nodded. "I suppose. Well, wish me luck,"

"Good luck!" Yui beamed.

A few minutes later, Ariel had returned to the Phoenix's Eye stands, and immediately questioned; "Sorry about that, did I miss much?"

"We're in first place," Feng smiled, and Ariel mirrored her expression. "That's great!"

"And Pierce is fighting that Asakura woman from Mermaid Heel," Lync added.

Ariel went white. "He's _what?!"_

-[CoT]-

Pierce started in surprise, looking around. He and Asakura were standing on a chunk of sidewalk and flowerbeds that had apparently been ripped out of space itself, within . . he didn't even know how to describe the surroundings he found himself in. It was like a massive white void, filled by bulging, rippling conduits of black smog that pulsed and undulated.

"What is this place? What did you do?" he asked.

"Data jurisdiction," Asakura replied as though she expected that to mean something to Pierce. "Or, to put it more simply, in here, I am God," She said this so matter-of-factly that Pierce wasn't completely sure she understood what she was saying.

"Oh, you don't believe me?" Asakura sounded vaguely upset by this. "That's rude. Let me demonstrate!" she immediately perked back up, snapping her fingers. Instantaneously, the stones under Pierce's feet dissolved, melting around his «Ember Walkers» and drawing him into the ground like quicksand. They rapidly reformed, trapping Pierce's feet in solid rock.

"That's . . whuh?" Pierce blinked, thinking furiously. _So she's using some kind of Spatial Magic to fight in a pocket dimension . . and also Earth or Stone magic to control the ground. Easy solution._ "Take Over: Phoenix Soul!" he cast. With a burst of fiery energy, his body burst out in red and gold feathers, tailfeathers shooting from the hem of his pants and wings emerging through magically generated holes in his jacket and shirt. Pierce felt Raya's soulfire within him, and as soon as his wings were formed he ripped his boots out of the ground, leaping upwards and catching the air, lifting himself above Asakura. The floating black energy played around his wingtips.

"Oh, you're not safe up there," the Mermaid assured him. She gestured towards him, and suddenly the plants in the flowerbeds nearby swelled and grew into lashing tendrils that surged towards Pierce. The Tamer blanched. _Now Plant magic too?_ With a shriek, he engulfed the tendrils in phoenix flame, pyres licking at the vines and turning them black. But they kept coming, pushing through the onslaught and wrapping around his arms and legs, before dragging him towards the ground.

Gasping for breath, Pierce was brought face to face with Asakura, who still had that cheerful smile. "You're not looking so good," she offered sympathetically, and suddenly half a dozen stones wrested themselves from the ground, before whirling and being whittled into razor-sharp points. "I know what'll make you feel better. A friendly game of darts!"

Pierce went pale. If any of those hit his vital organs . .

"Would you mind quickly clarifying something?" Asakura suggested, and the Phoenix paused. "Why is it that you don't want to die?"

"Why . . ?" Pierce blinked. "How can you even ask that? The world is an amazing place, and it's full of people who need me," he immediately replied. Then he paused for a second. Asakura's tone wasn't mocking. A thought struck him, and he released his Phoenix Take Over, in anticipation of the end of this little intermission. _Maybe she really doesn't understand_ . . "If I were to die, then I'd be letting down everyone who cares about me. And I can't allow that, because I care about my friends too much to hurt them like that,"

The bluenette tilted her head thoughtfully. "You know, I think that's the best answer I've ever heard anyone give to that question," she mused.

Suddenly, the vines slackened and let Pierce fall to the ground. "You've given me a lot to think about," Asakura nodded, seeming almost grateful. "Thank you. I now know what I have to do. But regardless. Where were we?" With that, the stone needles lanced forwards, ready to cut Pierce to ribbons - but the Tamer had taken the moment to formulate a strategy. "Take Over: Pokémon Soul!" he declared, drawing on Lairon's strength. His skin metallised, and spikes grew from his spine as his muscles toughened under their metal shell. The rock bounced off his steel armour, leaving mild scratches, and Pierce put his head down and charged, using Head Rush.

Asakura seemed surprised. "You have access to cross-reality data?" she blinked, not even trying to dodge as Pierce braced to bodyslam her - and then he hit something a lot more solid. He drew back, frowning, and discovered a blue force field had shimmered into existence between him and his opponent. _Is that some sort of protective Wind magic too?_ , he wondered in disbelief.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Asakura questioned. "In here, I control everything," The blue force field surged towards Pierce, and he braced, digging his feet into the pavement underfoot. Unfortunately, the ground promptly liquified, shooting up into tendrils of goopy rock that beat at his feet, rendering him unable to get a good balance when the shield hit him and forced him backwards.

So, reasoning that if he couldn't get through the shield he could go around it, Pierce used Dig.

He dove under the barrier as though the ground were made of water - a feat only made simpler by Asakura's softening of the stone - and erupted back out before the Mermaid could do anything about it, clutching handfuls of rock that he immediately threw as impromptu projectiles at Asakura.

The stones froze in mid-air, and she smiled. "You really are putting up an excellent fight!" she offered as Pierce charged again. "But you shouldn't use the same trick twice," As she spoke, another forcefield materialised between them, but Pierce was ready this time. "I'm not," he growled, dropping to all fours, slamming his hands into the ground, and using Rock Slide.

Stones erupted from the ground under Asakura's feet, knocking her into the air and crashing around her, burying her amidst the debris. The forcefield flickered and vanished, and Pierce charged, launching into a Take Down.

"Take Down is a Normal Type move," Asakura's voice echoed as she struggled out of the debris, and Pierce blinked as he charged. Was she psychic too? "Now granting myself the Ghost Type,"

Pierce had just enough time to notice Asakura's body turn a sickly dark shade of purple before he hit her - and phased straight through, as though she were . . a ghost.

And then he stumbled, frantically trying to bring himself to a halt, realising that the edge of the circle of ground they were fighting on was right under his claws.

"Thanks for the advice earlier. Please don't hold this against me," Asakura's tone was still absurdly upbeat and enthusiastic. "Your demise will provoke a massive reaction from your fellows. The results will be fascinating," she observed. Pierce, who had just regained his balance on the very cusp of the plunge, had just enough time to wonder what on Earth Land she was talking about.

And then she pushed him.

"Cardinal will be angry. But we still have an entire guild, I'm sure one won't be missed. If it helps destroy the Canopy, then it's really for the best. I'm sure they'll see that eventually," Asakura said to herself, looking entirely unremorseful as her opponent vanished into the abyss below.

Pierce pitched through the dancing flickers of black in the white void around them, his metal body dragging him down. _F_ ** _0_** _r a sec_ ** _0_** _nd, everyth_ ** _1_** _ng changed; the v_ ** _01_** _d was black and sh_ ** _0_** _t thr_ ** _0_** _ugh w_ ** _1_** _th fl_ ** _0_** _at_ ** _1_** _ng r_ ** _1_** _vers_ ** _0_** _f blue l_ ** _1_** _ght._ Then the dancing black flickers returned, and Pierce banished the momentary hallucination from his mind as he realised he was still falling, with no end in sight.

"Oh, Cardinal. I'm really sorry. It was an accident, I swear. I'll be more careful in the future," Asakura rehearsed to herself, before breaking down into snickers. "I hope I'll be able to keep a straight face,"

"No!" Pierce roared, his deepened voice echoing through the nothingness. "It won't end like this! I am not done! _We are not . . d_ ** _0_** _ne!"_ _F_ ** _0_** _r a sec_ ** _0_** _nd, the v_ ** _01_** _d turned black and blue aga_ ** _1_** _n_ , and suddenly blue flames erupted from the back of Pierce's hand. His guild mark was on fire.

The new fire rapidly spread, racing up his arm, enveloping his body, and circling around his eyes. Under normal circumstances, Pierce would have panicked, but it didn't hurt, so he embraced it and roared with all his might, "Phoenix's Eye _F_ ** _0_** _REVER!"_

Asakura's mock rehearsal was interrupted by a noise that echoed everywhere at once, and a flash of blue light from far below. "Eh?"

And suddenly Pierce was above her. Carried on beating metal wings, with skin coated by white steel feathers, with a stubby tail that ended in three feathers and whose base was crowned by two more. The iron talons that adorned his hands and feet were burning hot, and the transformed wizard was coated in an aura of sizzling blue fire.

Asakura's jaw fell open. "You . . I can't believe it. You've done it, you tapped -"

Pierce, though, was in no mood to listen to any more of Asakura's nonsense. "Solar Steel Blast!" he roared, launching a machine-gun-like barrage of orbs of molten, mercurial metal, each ablaze with the blue fire that permeated his soul. Asakura vanished under the onslaught in seconds.

Moments passed, and Pierce refused to let up, intent on ensuring that no way, no how, would the bluenette shrug this off like she had done everything else. He poured every scrap of magic he had into the attack, the blue fire enveloping him dimming as he channeled it all into the assault.

And, finally, he reached his limit. Panting, Pierce dropped to the ground, and looked himself over for the first time, breathing heavily. "Did I . . use Phoenix Soul _while using_ Pokemon Soul? Like a double Take Over?" he realised.

"Impressive," Asakura's voice wheezed, and Pierce saw her struggling out from under the pile of molten metal. Wary, he raised his arms and spread his wings, twitching the razor-sharp metal feathers.

"This is good . . we might have a chance now," the girl murmured, somehow mustering a smile. She snapped her fingers.

And suddenly they were back in Crocus, the dislodged chunk of pavement - what remained of it, anyway - perfectly slotting back into the street.

Tyria started. "Pierce!" she gasped, rushing over to her boyfriend, before pausing, taking in his hybridised appearance and the fiery blue aura that still washed over his body. "Sweet lightning, what happened?" she questioned.

Pierce regarded her and smiled through his metal beak. "I think I figured out how to combine Take Overs," he offered, before slumping. Tyria quickly caught him, steadying him. "That's incredible," she grinned.

"Okay, folks, I have no idea what went down between Pierce and Asakura, wherever they were, but the result is clear," Chapati narrated. "Asakura is defeated and Pierce earns a point for Phoenix's Eye!" _Phoenix's Eye: 54_

Pierce's transformation melted away, feathers disappearing and metal turning back into skin. He groaned, rubbing his forehead and straightening up. "Let's . . you can take the next fight, okay? I'm so damn tired," he murmured, leaning against a lamppost because he didn't trust his legs.

"That's fine. We can just stay here for a bit. Most of the wizards in this competition are honourable fighters, after all. I'm sure they wouldn't take advantage of an exhaust-" Tyria didn't even finish the sentence before a bolt of black lightning shot out of a side street, briefly turning Pierce's lamppost refuge into a massive fly zapper.

At full strength, Pierce could have taken the hit. But in his exhausted state, he didn't stand a chance. The leader of Team Phoenix's Eye was out before he even knew what was happening.

"Oh! And a surprise attack from Sabretooth takes the leader of Phoenix's Eye out of the action!" Chapati narrated as Tyria gasped. "Pierce!" She scrambled to him, immediately checking his pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief at the realisation that he was still alive.

"Was that guy really your leader?" Orga sneered, folding his arms at Tyria from across the street. The scoreboard dinged. _Sabretooth: 54_

"And with that, Sabretooth rushes to tie with Phoenix's Eye for first place!" Chapati added. "But there's a match brewing that looks to determine which guild is superior!"

"You're gonna fucking pay for that!" Tyria roared, charging at Orga as her fist swelled and mechanised into her Tectonic, bringing it down towards his head in a crushing blow.

Orga deflected with a fluid motion. Tyria frowned, disengaging and back-pedalling. He had learned from their previous fight; blocking her Tectonics was a mistake. "I've been looking for you," she hissed.

"Well, I didn't have a reason to engage before. But five points, practically free? That's a bargain," the Lightning God Slayer nodded.

Grimacing, Tyria reached into the air and twisted an imaginary dial. "I am the lock, and my command; the key! The gears of the universe shall defend my heart and soul!"

"This again?"

"I now undo the limiter, and pronounce myself the ruler of progress!" Amassive ebony gear emerged from the ground as she declared. "Gear Change!" With a pillar of black and flashes of blue, Tyria levitated, her hair spiking into electrical pylons. Steel chest armour formed around her shoulders, and short black blades appeared on her corset. A laurel wreath of black steel settled amidst her hair like a crown. "Machine Generation!"

"You know, I don't need to transform to use my God Slayer magic. And yet _I'm_ supposedly the fake?" Orga snorted dismissively.

"Machine God's Lightning Rod," Tyria cast in response. Her face mechanised into the red-visored helmet with horn-like lightning rods. "Now. Shall we go for round 2?"

"120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" Orga cast, launching a bolt of electricity at her. With a hiss, the lightning rod absorbed it and channelled the ethernano into Tyria's body. "Thanks. Tastes good," she smirked, and charged. "Machine God's Hammer!" Bringing her arm back as it extended into a massive club, she swung with accuracy towards Orga's head.

The Sabretooth ducked, the attack barely missing his temples. "Interesting," he snorted, keeping low and running forwards. "Lightning God's Judgement!" he declared, throwing a thunderous punch at Tyria. The blow caught her midriff, and sent her stumbling back. "Do you still think you can beat me?"

Tyria skipped back, not wanting to take the chance that he would attack while she was talking. After all, Orga had just proved he didn't care much for honourable fighting. "My grandfather's in the crowd, watching. I spent the last three months training with him so that I could win these Games. But so far, you've beaten me twice. So, for the sake of my pride, and his pride, and the pride of our whole guild . . I won't let you beat me again!" she roared, before pressing her palms together. "Rise!" Whirling black gears forms out of ethernano, electromagnetically held in place and forming massive, seraphic wings. Spreading her Mark III wings, Tyria lifted off, a targeting reticule popping up in her HUD and locking on to Orga. "Machine God's Third Art: Redacted Variable Hyperlaser!" Sixty-four blue lasers shot out of her wings, fusing together and striking with an overwhelming force.

Orga ducked, the assault passing narrowly over his head. "You'll need to be faster than that," he snorted.

Tyria blinked. Then she chuckled.

"Is something amusing?" the Lightning God Slayer questioned, totally unaware of the perfectly circular, smoking black hole that had been carved into his spiky green hair.

"You - you look . . oh, sweet lightning, you need to go look in a mirror," she stifled her laughter, focusing on the fight. And not Orga's ridiculous hair.

Orga raised an eyebrow, remaining perfectly deadpan. "I can't, we're in the middle of a fight. I won't let you attack me while I'm distracted,"

The Electrian groaned. "I'm not going to - fine, whatever. Let's just fight,"

"Wait, I think I smell something burning," Orga suddenly interjected, and Tyria snapped, "It's your hair, dumbass!"

"Oh. Alright then," The Sabretooth looked rather unbothered by this revelation. His face hardened. "You've found a way to absorb my lightning, with those antennas on your helmet,"

Tyria nodded, feeling quite proud of herself for that. "Yep,"

"I see," And suddenly Orga was flying towards her, carried by a massive leap that sent him reaching for Tyria's head. Instantly, she ascended, but the man's fingers caught her ankle, by which he pulled himself up.

"Get off!" the Phoenix commanded, shaking her leg in an attempt to dislodge the man, but he grabbed one of the black blades attached to her corset and pulled himself up, briefly hanging in the air. His eyes met Tyria's visor for a second, arms spread wide and upwards. The bluenette defiantly raised her chin.

And then Orga grabbed the twin antennae on her head with both arms and kicked off her chest, the force of his backwards thrust breaking the metal struts and ripping them from Tyria's head as he backflipped away, landing on the ground.

Tyria screamed in pain, the broken mechanised flesh sparking. Her Lightning Rod reverted, leaving her skin pristine, but the echoes of agony reverberated through her skull. Gritting her teeth, she held on to her wings, struggling to stay aloft.

"And without that, you come tumbling down," Orga smirked. "I'll take my point now,"

Blinking away tears, Tyria realised he was readying an attack. "Machine God's . . Forcefield!" she forced her complaining body to mechanise its left arm and throw up a blue protective sphere, just in time to absorb a bolt of black lightning. Overwhelmed, her wings vanished, and she fell to the ground, landing in a crouch. _I can't believe this_ , Tyria thought to herself. _All my training, all my learning . . I still can't beat him . . were those months with grandpa all for nothing?_

"You're just wasting my time at this point," Orga huffed, advancing on her.

Tyria shook her head, searching herself for something, anything, that might give her a chance.

"For what it's worth, you got some good hits in," Orga admitted, pausing above her. "You have a strong punch. I'm going to bruise later," Without further ceremony, he brought his fists down on his opponent.

The Phoenix rolled out of the way, before pausing as she hit something. It was one of the warped spires of rock that had appeared from Pierce and Asakura's extrasimensional battleground. Using it as a support, Tyria picked herself up.

"I have better things to do than indulge you. Would you just stop fighting?" the man tched.

Tyria's gaze fell on Pierce's unconscious body. That was why she was fighting. Because this man, who would attack an injured opponent when he wasn't expecting it, just for the sake of victory, did not deserve to win. _So_ , she demanded of her body and her magic, _the question is not - must not be - will I win? The question is,_ how _do I win?_

Tyria looked at Pierce again. If he can combine spells . . "Why can't I?" she murmured.

"Oh?" Orga paused, vaguely interested.

Squinting, Tyria opened the spells menu in her HUD, which immediately swamped her vision with dossier-like icons, each of which represented one of her many spells. They were colour-coded; her base TechType spells were blue, her Mark II spells were bronze, Mark III was silver, and her sole Mark Infinity Spell, Large Hadron, was a blistering gold. Her God Slayer spells, conversely, were an inky black. "Select all," she whispered, and added, "Copy," In a few seconds, she had duplicated her entire spell inventory. Under normal circumstances, this would be entirely pointless; spells were just commands, she could use each one as many times as she had the magic power for it. Duplicates were redundant.

Tyria gritted her teeth, steeling herself for the blasphemous action she was about to commit, then picked out two of her spells and pressed them together.

To Orga's perspective, his opponent was miming in mid-air, doing nothing. He knew better than to expect that was the case, though, and started building a spell.

And suddenly Tyria charged towards him. "TechType Mark II: Forty-Eight Peg Tectonics!" Her fists swelled into massive clubs, on which were mounted even more massive whirling steel gears. Reacting on instinct, Orga blocked the first punch, but the whirling teeth of the gear cut into the skin of his forearms, drawing blood. Seeing the second punch target his midriff, he had no choice but to disengage and retreat. "What the hell . ."

Tyria grinned. She hated destroying her spells like this, but she couldn't deny the results. She grabbed two more spells and pressed them into each other. "Machine God's/Mark III: Sixty-Four Pulse Torch Raid!" Her wings formed around her arm as it shifted into a flamethrower, and a volley of fireballs lanced out, battering the area around Orga. But the God Slayer weathered the blast, standing firm and striding towards her.

Frowning, Tyria dispersed that spell and pressed a couple more of her spells into a magical mess, feeding it to her magic circuits as she leapt up. "TechType God's: Drillhammer!" A concentrically whirling monstrosity of metal came crashing down on the Sabretooth, cutting scratches across his arms and body and forcing him to break off his advance.

Tyria shut her spell down, breathing heavily. These hybrid spells weren't optimised like her usual ones were, she was running out of magic fast. _I need to recharge . . need to eat_ , she resolved, looking around. There was a weathervane on a nearby roof. Was that sufficiently advanced technology to be food? Unlikely.

"TechType: Motorbike!" she cast, producing her silvered hover-cycle and taking off down the street, searching for an abandoned magic-mobile. As luck would have it, there was one right around the corner.

Tyria smashed into it, sending scraps of technology flying and dismissing her Motorbike before the impact could overwhelm it, landing awkwardly. But food was scattered all over the street, and she danced around, scooping up the biggest pieces and swallowing them.

"You know it's rude to stop for lunch in the middle of a fight," Tyria paused with a carburettor hanging out of her mouth, seeing Orga advancing behind her. She swallowed the rest of the engine, turning to face her adversary and already feeling fresh magic surging through her body. "Oh, so now you care about combat etiquette?"

Orga shrugged. "Honestly, not really,"

Tyria thought, opening her spells again. Orga hadn't had difficulty dodging or taking ranged attacks. But he'd seemed most damaged when she landed physical hits. If he had some sort of resistance to ranged assaults, maybe that was how he'd survived her Large Hadron attack on the first day. This was a problem, because most of her strong spells were ranged. Ugh, but even after eating the car she didn't have enough power left for a Large Hadron . . so maybe she should use the next best thing.

"You've got some good hits in, but I think it's time to wrap this up," Orga suggested.

"I couldn't agree more," Tyria grinned, grabbing _three_ of her spells and pressing them together into a mess of blue, black and silver.

"Lightning God's Secret Art: Rolling Thunder; Charged Particle Cannon!" Orga roared, pressing his hands together and blasting a torrent of black lightning to envelop Tyria.

Tyria leapt high above the assault, her wings appearing once again as she forced the chimeric spell to materialise. "TechType God's Mark III: Variable HyperTongs Field!" Her wings built their charges and blasted her own right arm, which metallised into her Machine God's Tongs, while her left arm became the forcefield generator. The tongs swelled, glowing and pulsing with an unbelievable charge of blue energy, and then the forcefield kicked in, swelling around her arm and containing the power, forcing it to hold in place rather than be discharged as a laser like normal. The muscled man watched, eyes wide, as Tyria lanced towards him even as the overcomplicated hodgepodge of a spell grew and took form, and the instant that the powered pincers were fully contained and charged, she pressed it to Orga's naked chest and let the surgical blast explode.

The released black shockwave of energy blew them both in opposite directions with a massive shock wave.

Tyria landed and moaned. Everything hurt. Her magic wasn't supposed to be used like that.

But the sight of a clearly unconscious Orga at the far end of the street made it all worth it.

Chapati took the opportunity to declare her the victor. "And with that, Phoenix's Eye proves itself superior and ties with Sabretooth for first place!" _Phoenix's Eye: 55_

Tyria just smiled and forced herself up, staggering into a nearby cafe and taking a seat near the abandoned counter. In her current state, she'd be an easy point for Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale or another Sabretooth member. Maybe even Mermaid Heel . . did Mermaid Heel have any members left? She couldn't remember . . either way, best to keep out of sight until she was feeling better.

-[CoT]-

As Erza finished off Minerva and Gajeel defeated Rogue, netting Fairy Tail the lead once again - _Fairy Tail: 57_ \- another confrontation brewed.

"So, you two took out Jura?" Jashie challenged. She and Eishaj were standing on the street, outside an empty restaurant. Sarph and Artorias stood opposite them inside the building. Only a pane of glass separated them.

"Yes," Sarph confirmed.

"What sort of dirty trick did you use? Because I know that you chumps couldn't beat Jura in raw power," the dark-haired female twin demanded, Eishaj stood behind her, brooding and silent.

"Would you like to test that claim?" Artorias growled, balling his fists.

In a flash, Eishaj punched the glass, causing it to splinter and shatter. A golden Archive screen shielded the Phoenixes from stray shards, and the barrier's remains crashed to the ground between them.

"Enough talk. We're behind," Eishaj rumbled, and a quick glance at the scoreboard confirmed his account; Lamia Scale was in fourth place, a whole twelve points behind tied-for-second Phoenix's Eye and Sabretooth.

"But if we can take out every other Wizard still in the Games, it'll still be just enough points to get the win for Lamia Scale. We don't have a second to waste, so we'll just have to beat you quickly," Jashie growled.

Sarph didn't need to run through the numbers to check if she was right. It didn't matter. "Just try it," he challenged.

"We'll do more than try! Nega-Net!"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Scoreboard! And, also, the remaining wizards of each guild!**

 **Fairy Tail: 56: Erza, Gajeel, Laxus, Gray, Juvia**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 55: Tyria, Sarph, Artorias**

 **Sabertooth: 54: Sting**

 **Lamia Scale: 43: Jashie, Eishaj**

 **Mermaid Heel: 32: N/A**

 **Blue Pegasus: 23: N/A**

 **So, I'm setting up a two-on-two fight between Sarph, Artorias, Jashie and Eishaj in a restaurant. You know what this means. FOOD FIGHT!**

 **Or maybe not. It could be something more serious. Maybe Sarph will get his own giant monster to fight Poscylla and Negogre. Maybe Artorias will blow Jashie up. Who's to say? Oh, wait, I am because I'm writing it. And I say food fight. Artorias, go hit Jashie with a fish.**

 **Oh, and Pierce can combine Take Overs. And Tyria can't. She can try, but she's not very good at it. That's clearly the only important development in this chapter. Asakura's data jurisdiction and being a TFEI are completely inconsequential.**

 **Now I** ** _really_** **want to talk about the blue fire phenomenon that Pierce experienced when he combined Take Overs, but I can't, because it would be such massive spoilers! It's not fair! :(**

 **Oh, and before I wrap this chapter up, I just want to remind everyone about the impending hiatus! Because all of the chapters in the GMG arc have been so long, my backlog's burned out - normally I'd want to be working on Chapter 134 as I type this, but I'm still finishing 117. And also, while the hiatus is running, I'm opening submissions for anyone to write fanfiction of their own about Phoenix's Eye! If you want to write your own Filler Episode, or, dare I dream, even an entire filler arc, talk to me! Peace!**

-[CoT]-

As Kynigós and Lucy waited outside the doors that led into the Palace of Persition, the hunter remembered what Hisui had said about Ryos' predictions. "Fairy Tail will win, having only lost one member, when Sting surrenders, but only after Lamia Scale and Phoenix's Eye defeat each other simultaneously,"

"Are you worried about your friends?" Lucy guessed.

"Who, Earth Land Phoenix's Eye? Naah. They're tough. They'll be fine," Kynigós grinned. ". . better than my friends were," he murmured after a moment, looking downcast.

Lucy wrapped her arm around him. "Well that's all over now," she assured him. "We'll save the world, and then you can live with your princess in the Palace,"

"Yeah, I - hold on, what?!" Kynigós demanded, glaring at Lucy's teasing expression. "Hisui is not _my_ anything!"

"Please. She obviously has a thing for you," the older woman shrugged. "And weren't you disappointed that she trusted Fairy Tail to rescue Arcadios over you?"

". . shut up," Kynigós growled.

"You say that, but I still feel like someday I'll be calling you King,"


	45. Sarph's New Sword! Its Name Is Artorias?

Chapter 115: Sarph's New Sword! Its Name Is Artorias?

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _Jashie watched Totomaru make his escape in fury. "No," she hissed. "No! You won't escape!" she shrieked, a huge black magic circle erupting from the ground around her. "Negative Nextreme! Come, Negogre!" A massive, hulking shape, made entirely of black energy, erupted from the ground, forming a huge troll-like monster that stood four storeys tall and brandished a thick club. Negogre roared, Jashie perched on its head and cackling maniacally._

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _A white magic circle appeared on the ground around Eishaj. "Positive Prevolution!" Eishaj yelled at the top of his lungs. "Come, Poscylla!"_

 _With a crack like lightning, white energy burst from the ground, lifting Eishaj into the air and coalescing into a massive, monstrous shape. Long, writhing tentacles sprouted from one end, and a massive, lashing tail emerged from the other end of the mass as each of the five serpentine tentacles sprouted black eyes and gnashing jaws._

-[CoT]-

The doors to the Palace of Perdition swung open, and the Fairy Tail rescue party saw a tall figure silhouetted against the sudden light.

"Oh good, you're here. I was just about to come rescue you," Kynigós grinned.

"Perry? What are you - oh, right, you're the weirdo one," Natsu dimly observed.

The hunter's smile slipped, and he cocked his head. "Who's 'Perry'?"

"Natsu has trouble remembering Pierce's name. We're not sure why," Lucy reminded him. "It's embarrassing for all of us," Happy weakly added, and Natsu glared. "I am not embarrassing!"

Mirajane blinked in confusion, and Lucy suddenly realised the other Fairy didn't know Kynigós. "This is Pierce Kynigós. He's from Edolas," she quickly explained to Mira, who nodded.

"Well, whatever. Call me Kynigós," He stepped forwards and relieved Lucy of the burden of Arcadios, effortlessly carrying the larger man. "Good to see you made it,"

"I'm happy to see you too," Arcadios weakly managed.

Kynigós glanced at Wendy. "Hey, you've got healing magic, right? Get him back on his feet,"

"I've already done what I can. He really just needs to rest," the bluenette explained.

The Hunter nodded. "Right. Well, I've got someone the lot of you need to meet. Lucy, come on out here,"

"Huh? But I'm . ." The words died on the Celestial Wizard's lips as the black-cloaked person with her face emerged from the shadows.

"Lucy, meet Lucy," Kynigós tried not to smile. The present Lucy was at a loss for words, while her future counterpart just smiled sadly. Then her gaze fixated on the Salamander. "Natsu . ." The man was shocked to suddenly find this strange version of Lucy wrapping herself around him. "It's been so long . . I missed you,"

Natsu was briefly at a loss for words, but he immediately noticed something was amiss. Only one limb was pressed to his back. "Wait . . what happened to your arm?"

"It doesn't matter. I just know everything's going to be okay now, because you're here and I'm . . happy," she breathed.

Kynigós smiled. He'd never seen Lucy - this Lucy, the Lucy that had become his Lucy, far more so than the Lucy he'd once known in Edolas - look so happy. And he knew in that moment there was no one in the world who could ever make her as happy as Natsu Dragneel did . . and he was okay with that.

But there was still a lot to do. "Everyone, we need to move. Lucy, what did you say happened last time? The royal guards recaptured you lot," he gestured to everyone except himself and Future Lucy, "and imprisoned you until the dragons arrived and laws stopped mattering,"

"Dragons?" Natsu questioned. "Right, you mentioned that . . . ten thousand dragons, right?"

"Yeah," Kynigós nodded. "We've got the Eclipse Gate set up to kill most of them, but it's real likely some will survive. And we're three of us Dragon Slayers here, so we gotta get out there and help. I've got a route -"

"Hold on, three?" Natsu blinked.

"Natsu and Wendy . . who's the third?" Mira asked.

Kynigós used his flesh hand to tap his chest. "I got trained as a Dragon Slayer in the future. But that can wait, come on! I know a shortcut!" he commanded, deciding that these clueless Fairies would only respond to action and taking off down the corridor, carrying Arcadios with him. Sure enough, the Fairies followed.

It wasn't long before they found themselves in a dead end. "What happened to your shortcut?" Lucy irritably questioned.

"I have royal permission to cause some collateral damage," Kynigós smirked. "Earth Dragon's Roar!" A whirling maelstrom of splintering rocks obliterated the wall, and Natsu grinned. "So you are a real Dragon Slayer!"

"As if that was ever in question," Kynigós scoffed, striding into the other corridor.

He paused, noticing that this one had a black rug. And the rug smelt familiar . . "Stop! Everyone!" Immediately, the Dragon Slayer leapt up and clung to the wall, cracking the stone and finding handholds. The rest of the group stopped at the threshold. "What's wrong?" Yukino questioned, the Fairies echoing the sentiment.

"You're not fooling me, Ryos! Show yourself!" Kynigós challenged.

Slow claps echoed through the Hall, and the darkness covering the rug all suddenly congealed into one mass, which rose into a three-dimensional entity, taking form as a young man with black hair covering most of his face, spikes of white crowning one side. His sole visible eye twinkled with menace, and he snorted with amusement. "You always were perceptive, Kynigós,"

"Yeah, well -" Ryos ignored him. "Now, I would like to talk to the rest of you. Without interruption," A wall of shadows suddenly sealed Kynigós off from the rest of the group. On his side, Kynigós growled, but realised Ryos had made a mistake. He grinned and dropped to the ground.

"All this has happened before, you know. The dragons, the Eclipse Two," Ryos explained. "I don't know what lies he's been filling your head with, but they are just that, lies. Listen to me, this is urgent. The dragons came and conquered us in my timeline because someone _closed_ the Eclipse Gate before we could use the Eclipse Two to wipe out the dragons. It is that one person who is responsible for the destruction of my world,"

Future Lucy frowned, she didn't know any of this. "Who was that person?"

"The only way to save this world is to kill that person before they can close the Gate," Ryos ignored her and continued. "So tell me, do you all agree that for the sake of this world's survival, that person has to die?"

"Why can't we just talk to them? Make sure they don't close the Gate?" Present Lucy reasoned.

"Because the future, Fate, all the choices you think you have are set in stone. Death is the only alternative!" Ryos exclaimed, sounding as though this were obvious. "Tell me, do you agree?"

"No!" Natsu roared. "We won't kill someone innocent. Not even to save the world!"

"Pity. I was hoping you might make this easy for me," Ryos grumbled to himself. And then, building a charge of Shadow magic in his hands, he lunged for Present Lucy, striking for her heart, so quick and unexpected that no one could block it -

A menhir shot out of the ground and intercepted. "What?!" Ryos exclaimed, his arm hitting the stone.

The ground split open, and Kynigós leapt out of the tunnel he had dug below the floor. "So, Lucy Heartfilia's the one who 'closes the Eclipse Gate', is that right? So you _have_ to kill her to save the world?" he skeptically questioned, making finger quotes.

"Your words imply that you understand, but your tone says the opposite. Though I never really expected you to agree with me," Ryos snorted. "But yes, Lucy must die,"

"That's bullshit. You just want to kill the present Lucy because killing her will cause a paradox. Future Lucy will cease to exist, and me and Zena will never have travelled back from the future because Lucy wasn't there to get the Eclipse Gate working," Kynigós accused.

"That . ." Ryos seemed to be at a loss for words. "That's faulty logic, because if that were true I'd never travel back in time either!"

"Oh, I'm sure you could get the portal working all on your own. Or find some other Celestial Wizard to kickstart it. You seem like the type who'd be confident enough in himself to rely on that," Kynigós snorted. "I've read up on time travel since I got back. Your little plot won't get by me,"

"Hold on. What's a paradox?" Natsu questioned, confused.

"Don't worry about it. Basically, he's lying and Lucy doesn't have to die," the Hunter exasperatedly summed up. He really preferred working with Phoenix's Eye . .

"Oh. Alright then!" the Fairy grinned, enthused by the good news.

Ryos just rolled his eyes. "I thought it might come to this. Don't think I'll hesitate to kill you," he warned.

"Like you didn't hesitate to kill Asuka?" Kynigós spat.

A cold smile tugged at Ryos' lips. "And like I won't hesitate to kill _her_ ," Suddenly, a patch of the floor erupted with shadow, and a pale form appeared, bound by shadows. The colour drained from Kynigós' face. "No," he mouthed soundlessly.

Zena was bound in Ryos' shadows, her body held still. "Kynnie!" she squealed, and strained fruitlessly against her restraints.

"What the heck?" Natsu gasped. "Is that a dragon?"

"That's my sister and you get your hands off her!" In a flash, Kynigós had his rifle out, and pointed at Ryos' head. "For the sake of the time we spent together, I'll give you one chance to let her go and surrender. I won't ask twice,"

In response, Ryos materialised a blade of shadows - the same one he'd used to kill Asuka, Kynigós realised with a start - and held it to Zena's throat. "Don't think I'm not fast enough to kill her before the bullet hits me,"

Kynigós paused, and side-eyed the group. For a moment, everyone was still. ". . . Wendy, wasn't it? You have healing magic, right? If I pull this trigger, can you get to Zena and heal her before she bleeds out?" Kynigós questioned.

Wendy blinked. "Um,"

The Hunter turned to look at her, keeping Zena and Kynigós at the corner of his eye, and winked. It was a wink that conveyed a lot of things; that he was used to this sort of situation, that he had faith in her, and, most importantly, _that he was bluffing_. Wendy's eyes briefly widened in realisation, and she nodded. "Yep. I can,"

Ryos' resolve weakened, looking at the sheer determination Kynigós exuded. ". . Fine," His shadows evaporated, and Zena dropped to the ground, free. "You're all going to regret this. I'm trying to save the world. If you stop me, a day will come when you all wish you hadn't,"

"Yeah, right! You're not trying to save the world. You just want to rule it at the head of an army of dragons," Kynigós spat.

Ryos just mockingly smiled. "Is there so much difference?" Before any of them could respond to that, he melted away into the shadows.

Kynigós remained on alert for a second, but once he was satisfied his foe was gone, he dropped his guard and rushed to Zena, wrapping his arms around her. "Zena! Are you alright? Did he hurt you? I swear, I'm going to -"

"M fine, Kynnie," Zena interrupted him, pressing her snout to his face and nuzzling him. Kynigós smiled and scratched her horns.

"Hold on a second. Did you call that dragon your sister?" Natsu interrupted.

Kynigós rose and nodded, looking ready for a fight. "Yeah. She was born in the future, she's my teacher's adopted daughter. Your dragons were like parents to you, right? Wouldn't you feel the same if they had actual children?"

Natsu blinked. "Whoa, relax. I'm not gonna hurt her. If you say she's good, I'll trust ya,"

Zena nodded, blinking innocently, and Kynigós paused, then relaxed. "Right. Yeah. Sorry. I suppose I'm a bit protective . ."

"Understandable. So, are we bringing her with us or are you gonna leave her somewhere?" Natsu sunnily questioned.

Present Lucy blinked. "So we're all okay with the fact that we're looking at a real live dragon?" Lily looked like he agreed. "This is something I never thought I'd see,"

"Just be happy that you're looking at a friendly baby, and not an adult that wants to eat you. I've seen my share of the latter," Future Lucy pointed out.

"I think she's cute!" Wendy agreed, kneeling and taking over from Kynigós in scratching her horns. Zena giggled and nuzzled her too, and her 'brother' smiled. "She likes you," The dragonet nodded. "Yup!"

"Just be careful, child," Charle commanded. "She might bite you,"

Zena apparently understood this, because she moved away from Wendy, locked eyes with Charle, and offered her an accusatory "Ash-hole,"

"C'mon, didn't you say we were in a rush? Let's go!" Natsu encouraged the group, and Kynigós nodded. "Zena, are you alright to run?" His sibling nodded encouragement, and the blond smiled. "Then let's go save the world!"

-[CoT]-

Tyria was still exhausted when the door swung open to the cafe where she'd been resting.

"Well, damn," Laxus Dreyar observed, looking the exhausted Electrian up and down. "First wizard I've seen since the start of the game, and you're in no shape to fight,"

Tyria looked at the Lightning Dragon Slayer through bleary eyes and groaned. "Aww, crap,"

"You want to take a minute? I'd rather not take out someone without at least giving them a chance. Especially after you took out that lightning guy from Sabretooth," Laxus gestured back out at the street, where an unconscious Orga was still sprawled. "That was you, right?"

"Yeah," Tyria confirmed, standing up. It was so ironic that Laxus was the one here, about to take her out. The new Lightning Rod Spell she'd created would be perfect in this situation. If she used it, Laxus' own attacks would charge her back up and she'd take him down . . but Orga had destroyed her Lightning Rod during their fight. The Spell was being repaired by her system, and she wouldn't be able to use it again for hours . . and Laxus wasn't going to give her that kind of time. She chuckled morbidly, shaking her head and reflecting that Orga had had the last laugh after all.

"Eh, I'm not gonna get any better. Might as well just get it over with. TechType: Tectonics!" Tyria commanded, metallising her fist and swinging a massive punch towards Laxus.

Laxus matched her blow. "Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"

 _Fairy Tail: 57_

-[CoT]-

When Jashie cast her Net spell, Artorias and Sarph each leapt in opposite directions to avoid it.

"Keep them separated!" Sarph shouted, pushing through the door of the restaurant and emerging onto the street. Artorias, meanwhile, retreated into the restaurant's kitchen.

Jashie and Eishaj shared a glance. They both knew that they couldn't focus solely on one or they'd leave themselves open to being blindsided by the other. "Take Sarph. I'll handle the creepy one," Jashie commanded, and Eishaj nodded, turning and charging towards the closer wizard, while Jashie entered the restaurant, making for the kitchen.

She swung the door open and looked around.

"Who are you calling creepy?" Artorias' golden eyes flashed with malice. He stood taut and tense, like a bow with an arrow nocked. A formless mass of blood hovered behind him, with several small tendrils waving in the air. "It really would be better if you just surrendered," he quietly advised.

"Like hell," Jashie growled in response, raising a hand and casting; "Nega-Tana!" A blade of negative energy appeared in her hand, and she lunged forwards, stabbing at Artorias' chest -

A kitchen knife blocked her, attached to the end of a tentacle of blood. Artorias smiled. "There's no rule against using things you find in the battlefield,"

"You don't trust your own skills? Nega-Neon!" With her free hand Jashie threw a ball of negative magic at Artorias' pelvis, but another tentacle of blood deflected it with a frying pan.

Jashie blinked for a second, eyeing the frying pan Artorias was wielding with menace. "Why are you fighting with a frying pan?"

"There're something very important that I've learned from my guildmates, something you've never been able to appreciate!" the Phoenix declared, fixing his golden, cat-like eyes on the Lamia. She stiffened, having difficulty meeting those disconcerting eyes, and in that moment the frying pan was sent flying towards her head. She barely managed to deflect it with her magic blade, but then Artorias was lunging towards her.

"You have to remember not to take things too seriously!" Artorias declared and slapped Jashie in the face with a dead fish.

The raven-haired woman stumbled back in shock. ". . is your strategy to annoy me to death?!" she spluttered.

A smile tugged at Artorias' lips. That was, in fact, _exactly_ his plan. If there was one thing he remembered about Jashie from when she had been in Phoenix's Eye, it was that she was highly strung. If he could make her lose her cool, she'd start making mistakes.

Jashie tched and blasted a hole in the roof of the single-storey building, before leaping through it. "Come up here when you're ready to fight seriously!" she shouted back down at him.

The Blood Wizard frowned. That was unusual . . it had been seven years since he'd last seen her. She'd matured. Of course. Maybe his plan wasn't going to work.

But then again . . .

Meanwhile, Sarph and Eishaj were engaging in a more conventional fight. Eishaj ducked under Sarph's sword and punched at his plexus, but Sarph's wings flared to life and he lifted off backwards, raising his guard.

"There's something I've wanted to tell you for a while," Eishaj suddenly rumbled, pausing but staying alert.

"What's that?" Sarph responded.

"I'm sorry,"

". . . for what? Defeating me? Going all out?"

"For seven years ago. At the Harvest Festival. My actions then were ill-advised," Eishaj continued.

"No kidding," Sarph nodded.

"I regret what I did then, but I will not hold back now. I'm sorry for that too,"

At this, the golden Phoenix just laughed. "I'd be insulted if you did any less," he snorted. "Now, come on. After you beat me two days ago, I stayed up all night and spent all of yesterday developing a new technique to beat Neutralisation Neostorm. Let's give our public a good show,"

Eishaj wordlessly raised an eyebrow.

Sarph clapped his hands together around the blade of «Tenshi Meiyo». His wings vanished into ethernano, and two large Archive screens appeared on the backs of his hands . . and then they folded, becoming boxes that wrapped around his arms. Two more large screens appeared under his feet and bent upwards, folding like origami into the shape of massive, knee-high boots that lifted the knight ten feet off the ground. More and more Archive screens appeared, and he spread his arms wide as the armour forming around him swelled, encapsulating his shoulders in massive translucent screens, as Archival armour formed around his bare stomach. Leg segments lifted him even higher, forming airtight armour around his body that grew, Archive screens overlapping and folding. «Tenshi Meiyo» got the treatment too, becoming enveloped in golden magic and swelling to a massive size. Finally, one tall, thin screen appeared over his head, folding around it to become a massive helmet. The colossus of Archive magic that resulted from Sarph's new spell stood almost thirty feet tall, and massive eastern characters manifested on its reinforced chest that read 'TENSHI MEIYO'. Angel's honour. "Archival Knight Templar!" Sarph roared, raising his sword triumphantly.

Back in the Domus Flau arena, everyone was watching this development with mixtures of surprise, awe, and confusion.

"Did Sarph just create his own personal giant robot?" Boomer asked, stunned.

Headmaster Atsphuria smiled knowingly from his seat near the back. "Headmaster, did you have something to do with this?" Lync asked.

"When a nice young man like that asks you for help designing a spell that can counter those twins' technique, you don't turn him down," Gabriel Atsphuria shrugged.

Next to him, Hephaestus laughed. "Good show, old man," he declared, clapping Atsphuria on the back and ignoring the fact that the god himself was older than everyone else present put together.

"Well? Aren't you going to summon yours?" Sarph asked.

Eishaj nodded, unfazed. "Positive Prevolution! Come, Poscylla!"

Back at the restaurant, Jashie had been waiting for a couple of minutes. "I can't wait around here forever, you know. There are other wizards to fight," she shouted down into the kitchen.

Directly below the hole, Artorias stood and took a deep breath. This was going to hurt his vocal chords. "Oh Jashie?!"

The Lamia stomped to the hole and looked down. But before she could get a word in, Artorias almost shouted, as a volume that he rarely used, "I am the weeping phoenix who sheds tears of blood as it rains down destruction upon its foes!"

"So what?" Jashie snorted.

Artorias smiled. "Let. It. Rain,"

And with that, the restaurant exploded with a massive geyser of blood, throwing Jashie into the air and sending debris flying in every direction. A solid chunk of the dining area was lifted skywards, where it tumbled end over end as Jashie landed. The redhead exited through the side door and took cover behind a dumpster as his opponent and the restaurant disappeared in a massive, bloody, dusty, cloud as the debris started raining back down.

He hoped that had gotten her. It would be very embarrassing if that had been for nothing.

Suddenly, the ethernano in the air around him went electric as black light shone from within the debris. A massive black arm erupted from the debris as Jashie roared; "Negative Nextreme! Come, Negogre!"

The red-garbed wizard watched as a massive, lumbering golem emerged from the ground, with Jashie balanced on its head. A huge wooden club materialised in its hand, and Negogre roared, before both summon and sorceress glowered down at him.

"I hope Sarph's doing better than I am," Artorias muttered.

Just down the street, an Archival colossus was struggling with a hydra. Two of Poscylla's heads had the massive Archival representation of «Tenshi Meiyo» in its jaws, and Sarph was struggling to pull his sword free. The wizard's actual body, as well as the real «Tenshi Meiyo», was contained between the Archival Knight Templar's shoulders. The other three heads were beating at the Templar's shoulders and stomach.

Sarph kicked upwards, and the Templar's foot caught the base of Poscylla's five necks. Eishaj gritted his teeth as his Summoned creature was knocked upwards, and Sarph took the opportunity to wrest the Templar's sword free and backpedal.

His eyes widened as a massive black monster appeared at the far end of the street. Artorias was at its feet, frantically trying to avoid being smashed into paste by the massive monster's club.

The Blood Wizard raised a shocked eyebrow at the sight of the massive Archival Knight Templar, but shrugged it off and pelted down the road towards the magic constructs.

And while Eishaj was distracted by his sister's sudden appearance, Sarph brought his sword back and delivered a massive downwards slash that severed the centremost of Poscylla's heads. The long, serpentine neck broke away and collapsed to the ground, rapidly disintegrating into ethernano, and Eishaj gasped, immediately wheeling and inducing an angry roar in his creature's four remaining mouths.

"If this thing grows two new heads, I'm going to lose it," Sarph growled.

And then Artorias danced between Poscylla's legs and waved up at Sarph, getting his attention as Negogre caught up with Eishaj. With its free hand, the Templar scooped up Artorias and dropped him on its shoulder.

"They're together again," Artorias pointed out, bracing himself. "I hope your plan works,"

Jashie heard this and smiled, looking down at her brother. Riding on the base of Poscylla's necks, Eishaj was sitting lower than his sister. "I hear they're trying to keep us separated!" she exclaimed. "Are you chickens really so scared of our Unison Raid?"

Sarph and Artorias returned her mocking look with steely glares, not saying a word.

"Oh, that's right. You've never seen it up close and personal," the black-haired Lamia declared, pointing at Artorias. "Let's change that!" Negogore lowered her to Eishaj's level, and the Polarity Pair exchanged a glance, before pressing their hands together. Magic built around their arms, manifesting a crackling magic circle, and they threw it into the air, shouting; "Neutralisation Neostorm!"

The Spell erupted high above them, raining down a nuclear cloud of magical particles, focused on the Archival Knight Templar. The twins shaped the effect, ensuring that it congregated like a cocoon around Sarph's construct rather than dispersing across the ground as it normally would.

Back in Domus Flau, the crowd was silent, watching the final remaining members of Team Phoenix's Eye vanish into the Spell. "This could be a problem for Team Phoenix's Eye! Just a couple of days ago, that same spell won the Polarity Pair's match against Sarph and his teammate Pierce. Will this end Phoenix's Eye's run in the Games?!"

Everyone in the Phoenix's Eye bay looked at Atsphuria. The elderly Electrian chuckled and shook his head.

And then, with wild swings of two massive swords, the Templar charged out of the Neostorm. A golden sword made of Archive magic severed another of Poscylla's heads, and a red one made of blood carved a massive gash into Negogre's chest. Jashie and Eishaj reared back, shocked at the sudden assault. "What? But how?!" the female demanded.

"Did you honestly think I would engineer a technique designed to counter your big summoned creatures _without making it airtight_?!" Sarph roared. Because he had figured out the weakness of Neutralisation Neostorm. It was air-based. So if one could fight within an airtight seal, the technique was useless!

Negogre clumsily blocked a slash from the golden sword with its club, and Sarph noticed Poscylla's heads rearing back. "Artorias! Shield!" he roared.

 _-[CoT]-_

 _"So, your plan to counter Neutralisation Neostorm is to encase yourself in a massive suit of armour made of Archive magic and hope it stands up to the attack," Artorias dryly murmured._

 _"Yep!"_

 _"That's all good and well, but how do you expect_ me _to survive it?" the Blood wizard questioned._

 _"Well, first I need you to wrap yourself in a cocoon made of blood, shaped like a giant sword. Then I'm going to pick you up and use you as a weapon,"_

 _Artorias blinked. ". . I have notes,"_

 _-[CoT]-_

Clutched within the Templar's left hand, Artorias directed the bloody sword. He nodded, redirecting the matter to reform into a large, curved surface, and Sarph ducked behind the growing shield just in time for Poscylla's three heads to bounce off. In the moment of confusion that resulted, Sarph went low and stabbed at the white creature's chest.

The golden sword parted the white magic like jelly, opening a massive hole in the heart of the creature. Eishaj choked as the feedback overwhelmed his nerves, and he collapsed, Poscylla starting to evaporate.

"Enough of this!" On Jashie's psychic order, Negogre dropped its club and used both hands to grab the edges of the shield, trying to rip it out of the Templar's hand. Instead, though, it wrapped around and encased Negogre's wrists, trapping it. Artorias emerged, looking drained but resolute. "Give in," he suggested to Jashie. "This isn't a fight you can win,"

"Like hell it isn't!" Jashie suddenly screamed, glaring at Artorias. "You think you're so much better than me?! You damn prodigy! You think I can't beat you, even after seven years?! You'e wrong! I won't lose to you! You do not get to say that you beat me!" she raged, before spinning and looking down at Eishaj. "Brother! Grand finale time!"

Artorias barely had time to process this, dumbly mouthing; "Huh?"

Sarph paused, listening to Jashie's rant. That . . sounded similar to the sentiments he'd once held about Artorias and their relative power levels.

And then Jashie threw herself off Negogre, raising her arms. On the ground below, Eishaj saw her coming and raised his own arms. In sync, both shouted; "Neutralisation Nebula!"

Sarph had just enough time to realise that they were casting an unfocused version of Neutralisation Nebula. In order to envelop both himself and Artorias in the blast, they were self-destructing.

The twins' hands met, and everything went white.

-[CoT]-

Domus Flau watched as the lacrima cameras were destroyed by the blast, and the feeds went dark. "Uh, just a second, folks, while we get some new cameras over there," Chapati clarified. A moment later, the video feed returned, and the results were conclusive.

Negogre, Poscylla and the Archival Knight Templar had all disappeared. All four wizards were unconscious, their earlier fights and the sheer amount of magic used having taken it out of them.

"Aw, crap," Lync murmured. "Maybe I should have gone . . I could have cleared the blast and stayed in it," Hare mumbled to herself, looking uncharacteristically sombre. "Good effort," Master Feng nodded approvingly.

Sif howled mournfully as Chapati broadcast; "Well, that looks pretty conclusive to me, folks! Two points to Phoenix's Eye and two points to Lamia Scale, making their final tallies 57 points for Phoenix's Eye and 45 points for Lamia Scale! That means that on the current scoreboard, Phoenix's Eye and Fairy Tail are tied for first place. However, other than the five surviving members of Fairy Tail, there's still one wizard left in the battlefield. Sting Eucliffe of Sabretooth is still in play, and he might be the last point that Fairy Tail needs to secure a win!"

Fairy Tail erupted in cheers at this declaration.

"Alternatively," Yajima interrupted, "Sabretooth is still on 54 points. If Sting can identify and defeat the team leader of Fairy Tail, he can still earn his team enough points to win the Games,"

The arena grew silent at this. Everyone watched with bated breath as the Grand Magic Games was brought to a stunning conclusion.

 _Fairy Tail: 58_

"And it's over! The winners of the Grand Magic Games are Fairy Tail!"

-[CoT]-

Pierce woke with a start in the Phoenix's Eye A bay. "Wha . . what happened?" he blearily questioned, looking around.

"It's okay," Alice immediately cautioned him.

Pierce focused on the orangette, frowning. "What happened? Last thing I remember, I just beat Asakura, then something hit me and . ." He shrugged helplessly.

"Orga blindsided you. Then he and Tyria fought it out," Alice recapped. "Don't worry, she won,"

Pierce started for a second, but then relaxed. "Good," he nodded. Then he paused, recalling that Alice had been the one to alter his Beast Tamer Magic so that he could use Take Overs. "So, when were you going to tell me that you also gave me the ability to combine Take Overs?" he asked, sitting up.

Alice looked decidedly awkward. "About that . . I didn't,"

"What? But . . when I fought Asakura, I used Pokemon Soul and Phoenix Soul at the same time,"

"I know, I saw," the girl nodded, before shaking her head. "But that should be impossible,"

"Then . . how?" Pierce questioned.

"I don't know," Alice admitted. "I definitely want to do some tests on you, but it might have to be later. While you were out, an announcement came. Apparently the King wants all of us who are wizards - not just participants, but every member of every guild - to meet in the big courtyard outside Mercurius at half past six,"

"Right . . what's the time?"

"About four, so we have time. Rest, Sarah's bringing some food for you and the others,"

"The other -" Pierce sat bolt upright and looked around, finding Grace, Tyria and Kenzie lying in nearby beds, all still unconscious. "Where are Sarph and Artorias?"

"Being brought back. They lasted the longest," Alice recapped.

"Oh, right . . how'd we do in the end?" So many unspoken questions resonated behind the one. Had their efforts all been worth it? Had it been for nothing?

Alice just smiled brightly. "Second place!"

"Second . ." Pierce just chuckled. "Master's going to be so disappointed,"

A/N

A/N

And, for the last time, the score tallies!

 **Fairy Tail: 58**

 **Phoenix's Eye: 57**

 **Sabertooth: 54**

 **Lamia Scale: 45**

 **Mermaid Heel: 32**

 **Blue Pegasus: 23**

 **. . Okay, be honest. Did anyone think Phoenix's Eye was gonna get first place? I'll admit that I considered it, but naah. This is Fairy Tail's Games. Maybe next year.**

 **Also, if anyone gets how this chapter's title references One Piece, have a cookie. (Hint: If 'Nosestorm' means anything to you, it should be easy to guess!)**

-[CoT]-

"Tyria?"

The Electrian blearily rubbed her eyes, and gasped, finding Hephaestus sitting on the end of the temporary bed. "Grandpa!"

"You did well. That was very impressive, watching you fight that damn so-called God Slayer," he smiled, bursting with pride.

"Yeah, well, third time's the charm . ." Tyria looked downcast.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up about it. You think even we gods are perfect? Don't forget, I'm the god of the forge. I know all about improving things and making them stronger," Hephaestus assured her. "To be honest . . I came to say goodbye,"

She blinked. "Goodbye?"

"I can't stay. You know we gods have rules among ourselves. We aren't supposed to interfere in human affairs, not directly at any rate. Just my being here, and what I did stopping that Minerva woman from killing your friend yesterday, has pushed what I'm permitted to do to the limit . . and I received this last night," Hephaestus raised a piece of purple paper.

"What's that?" Tyria asked.

"It's a warning, from Ankhseram. The god of death," Hephaestus reminded her. "If I linger here any longer, or do anything else to interfere in mortal affairs, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the other gods,"

"I get it. So you can't stay?" his granddaughter asked, sadness crossing her face.

"No. I'm sorry. But you know where to find me," Hephaestus assured her, smiling sadly. "And I'll always be watching over you and your friends,"

"I'll miss you," Tyria admitted.

"Don't. You have plenty of family. You don't need me, not when you have Phoenix's Eye," Hephaestus assured her. He left his seat, bent over, and kissed her forehead. "Goodbye, Tyria,"

"Goodbye, grandpa,"


	46. The Eclipse

Chapter 116: The Eclipse

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _"I'm not just a human, you great big chunk of ivory," Kynigós retorted. "I told you. I'm the greatest hunter in Edolas. And when I get back to Earth Land, I'm gonna claim that place's title as well,"_

 _"You know, now that I think about it, you look somewhat familiar," Equivaton mused. "Yes. Shortly before I ended up here, I saw a human who looked quite like you, and, as humans go, he was most interesting indeed . . hmmm," the dragon hummed thoughtfully._

 _-[CoT]-_

As the sun set on the Grand Magic Games, thousands of wizards gathered in the Lee-Ian Crystal Plaza before King Toma E. Fiore, and the King explained the impending threat of the dragons.

"This is what Kynigós was talking about a couple of days ago, isn't it?" Tyria questioned.

"Pretty much," Pierce confirmed.

"Do we really have to kill all those dragons?" Grace looked upset at the thought.

Pierce frowned, remembering something that Kynigós had told him.

 _"Oi, Pierce, there's something you need to know. In the future I saw, where dragons destroyed the world, you and Grace were dead. The future version of Boomer told me you'd both died because a faction of dragons tricked you into meeting them under false pretences of a peace treaty. Don't trust them. These things are not your friends, not like Equivaton, and they will kill you if you let them."_

"I hope not. But if the alternative is death, then . ." Pierce shrugged grimly. He'd rather kill than let Tyria or Grace die.

The crowd erupted in cheers of support for the King's request that they protect the city, every wizard declaring their commitment to fighting the incoming dragons. True to form, Phoenix's Eye joined in. Fleur raised her rapier as Totomaru shouted, "We'll burn them up!"

"Everyone together, Phoenix's Eye forever!" Master Feng led the guild in a cheer, and they all roared, "Phoenix's Eye forever!"

"We'll do what we have to," Pierce declared.

"Thank you . . thank you . ." the King sobbed. "I mean it . . thank you . . pumpkin,"

While everyone reacted in shock to this, at the back of the crowd, Faraday watched. Her eyes narrowed.

-[CoT]-

"Princess!" Hisui turned in surprise and excitement as Kynigós, leading his motley group of Fairy Tail members, government liaisons and apocalypse survivors, joined her and the assembled Rune Knights. They had lost Yukino and Mirajane along the way, but Kynigós wasn't too bothered about that.

Kynigós frowned at a short, stern-looking man. "Who are you?"

"That's Minister Dalton," Arcadios informed him before the man in question could answer. Instead, the man chose to eye up Zena in shock and confusion. "What in the world?!"

"Oh. So you're the asshole who made us go down into those caves to begin with," Kynigós dryly observed. "What?!" Natsu snapped at this. Following his gaze, the hunter's look turned lethal. "If you even think about touching her, I'll feed you to one of those dragons myself,"

"Now hold on just a second, young man," Dalton began, but Hisui cut through the conversation. "Enough. We can settle our differences later. There is a bigger threat at hand,"

"Hey, you're the Princess!" Lucy exclaimed in sudden recognition.

"Yes, and you're from Fairy Tail," Hisui nodded. "I'm very sorry for how you've been treated, but an official apology will have to wait -"

"No sweat, it's cool. Kenny here explained that you needed us to rescue your man Arcadios. You could have just asked, you know," Natsu shrugged, ignoring the way the blond boy's eye twitched as he grumbled, "It's _Kynigos_ ,"

"I'm glad to hear it. But there are more pressing matters at hand," the princess frowned.

"Has there been any sign of the dragons?" Kynigós questioned.

The Princess shook her head. "Only Zena there, luckily. But we can't wait any longer, we need to start the Eclipse Cannon's firing sequence or it'll be too late when they do come,"

Kynigós nodded. "I had an encounter with Ryos, too. He was in the palace and tried to hold Zena hostage,"

"Then the situation's even more dire than I had thought. But we can't worry about him now," Hisui shook her head, before turning to address the Rune Knights. "In preparation for the dragons' assault on Fiore, we will begin the Eclipse Cannon's firing sequence!" She raised her arms, before turning towards the gate.

At seven minutes past seven PM on the seventh of July, in the year X791, Hisui commanded, "Unlock!"

Kynigós looked up at the moon, high in the darkening sky above. "Come on," he growled as it started to turn red.

The gate hissed as the locks were removed, one by one. Zena watched the gate curiously, remembering when she had powered it previously.

"How's the evacuation going?" Hisui questioned.

"Troops are getting everyone out of town," a soldier reported.

"I hope this works," Future Lucy murmured.

The Gate continued to unlock, and Kynigós turned back to look at it, remembering how he had fought Ryos on this very spot, not so long ago.

"I would like to wipe them out in one shot, if possible. If we miss, it'll be years before we can gather this much magic power again," Hisui said, worry etched into her face.

"That's not likely. There'll be outliers, stragglers. I suspect at least a couple of hundred will survive," Kynigós pointed out.

"What would have happened if Ryos had killed me?" Lucy questioned.

"A paradox. We can't really be sure what would happen," Future Lucy admitted. "But if I wasn't there to reprogram the Eclipse Gate and make it send us back seven years in time instead of four hundred, then it's likely that none of us would be here,"

"Four hundred years?" Kynigós frowned, that niggling thought surfacing again.

"Yes, that's what the Eclipse Gate was originally set to. Zeref's time," Hisui reminded him.

"Four hundred years," the hunter repeated. That sounded familiar . . where had he heard that before?

There was a massive creak, and the Eclipse Gate's doors parted, white light spilling forth from within. Smoke belched outwards, engulfing the Exceeds and playing around the humans' feet. Zena sniffed at it inquisitively,

"Four . . hundred . ." Kynigós gasped as a fragment of a conversation he, Asuka and Equivaton had had months ago suddenly surfaced in his memory.

 _"Damnit, Equivaton! That fucking Sempiternal piece of crap sent us thirteen years into the future!"_

 _"Forget thirteen. I've ended up more than four hundred years out of time!"_

Kynigós sharply inhaled. _Four hundred years out of time_. Equivaton had been from the year X390, or thereabouts. The Eclipse Gate had already been set for four hundred years ago . . X391. Dragons had been around during the time of Zeref. Right, of course, because Zeref had helped Acnologia become a dragon. And if the Gate was still set to open a passageway to that time period . .

"Hey. There's something in there," Wendy pointed out, gesturing at the crack of light that was spilling through the massive doors. There was a shadow obscuring part of the light.

"We need to close the Gate!" Kynigós shouted, immediately realising what was going on.

"What?!" Hisui exclaimed, looking at the boy in confusion.

"Ryos tricked us. There is no Eclipse Cannon, it's just a gate! A gate that opens four hundred years into the past, when dragons lived!" Kynigós shouted. "The dragons aren't on the moon! They're on the other side of the Gate!"

"Of course," Future Lucy murmured in horrified realisation, while Present Lucy gasped. "So _that's_ why I'd close the Gate,"

The blood drained from Hisui's face. "I-if you're right . ."

Suddenly, the Gate was thrown open and a massive shape burst through. It was coated in brown scales, with a long snout baring teeth like stalactites. Six silver horns crowned a head with deep-set red eyes, matching sharp talons on each of his claws. As he emerged, a long, spiked tail that ended in a heavy club moved back and forth. The earth shook with every step he took, causing several Rune Knights to overbalance and send each other toppling like dominoes. "Men! Compose yourselves!" Dalton instructed, storming off to reorganise the troops.

Kynigós inhaled sharply, sudden, uncontrollable tears brimming at the corners of his eyes as he took in the sight. No. No way. No _fucking_ way!

"Daddy?" Zena murmured in surprise.

The Earth Dragon, Equivaton, turned his massive head and looked around. "Interesting," he rumbled. "A human city. Smells . . delicious,"

"You know him?" Natsu asked.

"He's my teacher!" Kynigós retorted.

"This doesn't make sense, how can Equivaton be here? He's dead!" Future Lucy protested.

Something bumped into Equivaton from behind. "Move," an unfamiliar voice growled, and Equivaton turned, before spreading his wings. "Piss off," he growled, but throwing himself into the air and lifting off all the same, knocking dozens of soldiers to the ground with the downdraft as he did.

Kynigós frowned, squinting at Equivaton's wing joints. "His wing isn't hurt," he observed.

"What does that mean?" Arcadios questioned.

"The Equivaton we knew was crippled, his wing had been injured in a fight. Even if it healed, there should be a scar," Future Lucy explained. "Kynigós - we're talking about time travel here. I think this is Equivaton before he met us,"

"There's more dragons!" Happy interrupted the debate, and everyone turned to see that two more massive beasts had emerged from the Eclipse Gate.

Kynigós picked up Zena and lifted her onto his shoulders. "You lot get that damn Gate closed!" he commanded as his sister wrapped her claws around his neck and dug into the pouches of his backpack.

"Where are you going?" Hisui questioned. Behind her, a fourth dragon pulled itself through the Gate.

"After Equivaton!" Kynigós shouted, speeding through the fragmented ranks of the Rune Knights in pursuit of the Earth Dragon, while Lucy, having the presence of mind to obey Kynigós' command, cast around for the controls. "You know how to operate this thing, right?" she asked her counterpart from the future.

"I know how to hotwire it," Future Lucy helplessly shrugged.

Lucy groaned. "Princess?"

But Hisui seemed to have gone into shock. Her eyes had turned glassy and her mouth was frozen in a tiny hole.

"Just wreck it!" Natsu declared, his fist lighting up, but Wendy jumped in his way. "Wait! We can't destroy it, we might still be able to send these four dragons back to their time,"

"Five," Lily corrected as a fifth monster emerged from the abyss of light.

"It's all my fault," the princess murmured.

"Hisui!" Future Lucy crouched before her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, you're the only one who can do this!"

The latest dragon, a dark red one with two massive horns reminiscent of lobster claws that met before his face on his forehead and chin, was quickly pushed aside by dragon number six. The newcomer had a long neck ending in a streamlined, triangular head, and light grey scales that rippled in the moonlight. "Hey, that dragon looks familiar," Natsu frowned as the newcomer pushed past its predecessor. "Where are we?" Arashi Deta growled.

"I don't know. But it looks like the eating's good," Scissor Runner, as the red dragon was called, smiled ferally.

Arashi tched. "Barbarian. I'm going to look for answers," they declared, spreading a set of massive wings and taking off.

"She didn't even notice us!" Natsu protested, glaring at the shrinking dragon.

"Um, Arashi's non-binary," Wendy pointed out.

"Why would they? This is a version of Arashi Deta that never met any of you. Opening the gate has changed the past, it's likely that the bones of the dragon you spoke with in the cave have ceased to exist," Arcadios explained.

"Hold on. If that's the case, then Equivaton has no idea who Kynigós and Zena are!" Future Lucy suddenly realised. "He'll kill them!"

This was the declaration that snapped Hisui out of it. "Kill?" she gasped, looking up.

"How do we turn the damn gate off?!" Present Lucy screamed at her as the seventh dragon forced his way through the Gate above them.

"Oh, um . . the pedestal! Over there! It's that switch!" Hisui explained. Nodding, Lucy left the group, darted between the legs of the dragon that had replaced Arashi Deta and pressed herself against the wall, struggling against the rush of air from the portal. "I hope this is all it takes!"

There was a crash, and a massive claw used the edge of the Gate to pull its owner through. "Now there's eight!" Happy exclaimed.

"I don't understand. How is this possible?" the greenette questioned.

"It's because of the moon!" Lucy shouted. "I asked Grandpa Crux to analyse the Gate, it works on a combination of Dark and Celestial Magic! That red moon is interfering with the Gate, it's locked on one time period and it's out of control!"

"So Kynigós was right? We actually should have destroyed the moon?" Arcadios questioned in disbelief.

"No. We should have left the Gate shut," Hisui shook her head in despair.

"This isn't what you told us!" Dalton, who had apparently given up on reorganising the routed troops, shouted at Future Lucy. "What?" the older girl questioned.

"She's not at fault here, Dalton," Arcadios interrupted. "Lucy is not the one who told us about the Eclipse Two. That blame is on the shoulders of the man named Ryos,"

Dalton squinted suspiciously at Future Lucy. "We'll figure it out later," he finally decided.

"There's another one coming!" a soldier shouted. "It looks like it's made of solid rock!"

"Come on, why can't I get this stupid thing to close?!" Lucy demanded as the ninth dragon to arrive roared. The sheer shockwave threw the unfortunate wizard away from the switch, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"No!" Future Lucy gasped. She looked up at the Dragon, who seemed to have taken notice of the tiny blonde dot, and leapt into action.

Lucy picked herself up. "I have to do this. The whole world is counting on me!" she told herself, charging towards the switch again - and suddenly a duplicate of her face was running next to her. "Together!" Future Lucy commanded, and her past self nodded. Three hands grabbed the switch, and pulled.

Nothing.

"Oh come on!" Present Lucy growled.

"Wait!" Everyone turned in surprise, seeing Yukino approaching, with Mirajane at her heels. "Lucy, we need to use our Zodiac Keys and combine our . . huh?!" she gasped, seeing two Lucys standing together.

"I'll explain later!" the future version instructed.

"Right," Yukino accepted, taking out her Celestial Keys of Libra and Pisces and throwing them into the air. Lucy did the same with her own ten golden Keys. All three knelt together and chanted; "Oh, Celestial Spirits of the Zodiac! Grant us the strength to seal away the wicked! Open, gates of the twelve signs!" Golden Celestial Magic engulfed them as all three commanded, "The Zodiac!"

A doorbell rang out. One by one, all twelve Celestial Zodiac spirits materialised. "Please help us," Nodding as one, the spirits swarmed around the Eclipse Gate, just as a tenth Dragon appeared within it. They gathered around each door and forced them together, pressing against the Dragon.

With a resounding boom, the doors closed.

"Yes!" Natsu cheered.

Hisui weakly smiled.

"We're not out of the woods yet. How many dragons got through?" Arcadios questioned.

"Nine, sir," a soldier reported.

"Send the word out to all the guild wizards in the city. Take out the dragons with extreme prejudice," Arcadios commanded.

From the shadows, Ryos watched. His eyes alit on Natsu Dragneel. Better to wait . . in fact . . He dashed away without a sound, making for a very specific dragon he'd noticed come through the Gate.

"We should go help our friends too," Natsu declared. "Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.

"Wait. Lucy? Both of you? And Yukino? Can you stay here?" Princess Hisui requested. "There might be a way to put the Gate in reverse and send the dragons back. But I'll need Celestial Magic for that,"

"Sure thing!" Lucy confirmed, while Yukino nodded, and Future Lucy agreed. "Absolutely,"

"Alright. Wendy, Charle, Lily, come on! Let's go kick some dragon ass!" Natsu roared.

-[CoT]-

"My ignorant subjects! Listen and take heed!" Ryos yelled, standing on a tall rooftop, thinking to himself, _'Nine isn't quite ten thousand, but it'll be enough,'_

"I hereby proclaim this the dawn of a new age! The era of dragons!" he shouted, and a couple of the dragons roared in assent from around the city, his words somehow reaching them.

"And I order you to slaughter all the wizards of this city and leave every one of them dead!" Ryos continued.

One of the dragons landed behind him, with a claw outstretched, and Ryos jumped on, before Motherglare took off again.

Ryos smiled, focusing on the closest dragon. "Zirconis? Take care of the humans around the Eclipse Gate!"

-[CoT]-

Phoenix's Eye had been tasked with guarding western Crocus. The assembled members of the guild stood together and watched as multiple massive shapes dominated the night sky.

"What am I doing here? I don't even have any magic!" Kinana protested.

"You could go home," Totomaru suggested. At the same time, Hare tched and commanded, "Quit whining. You're part of the guild, right?"

"Uh . . yes! You're right," Kinana nodded, clenching her small fists. "I . . I can help. I'm sure of it,"

"Have we heard from Astro yet?" Feng asked Boomer, who shrugged. "I called him, and he said he's sending help, no doubt some kind of dragon-fighting robot. I don't know if it'll arrive in time, though,"

Suddenly, Vice-Admiral Smoker, leading a platoon of G-5 Marines with Tashigi at his side, assembled alongside Phoenix's Eye. "What the hell are you doing here?" Captain Kenzie Black snapped at the soldiers.

"The Games are over. I'd arrest you right now if there wasn't some sort of disaster on the horizon. In the meantime, consider yourself and your lot deputised. Or something," Smoker snorted.

"Like I'd want to be part of your shitty army!" Black retorted.

Meanwhile, Sarph was surprised to find a bookish Marine Captain approaching him. "Excuse me? That sword, it's «Tenshi Meiyo», correct? One of the O Wazamono swords of the Meito?" Tashigi questioned.

"Uh, yes. I'm surprised you noticed," Sarph confirmed.

"We've got incoming!" Lync interrupted. The pink-haired boy was standing on Aluze's head, watching the dragons as they spread across Crocus. The green Mechanical Bakugan was crouched in the street, out of view of the dragons. One of which had turned towards them. "We'll talk more later," Tashigi declared, returning to Smoker's side and giving Kenzie a wide berth.

"Well? You've got lasers, right? Fire!" Sarph commanded.

"You got it! Ability activate! Dora Cannon!" Lync commanded, sliding a card into his Gauntlet. Aluze's head lashed upwards and opened its beak, blasting the approaching silver dragon with a green laser.

The laser bounced off Arashi Deta's scales, barely even singeing them. The Storm Dragon paused, focusing on the direction where the laser had come from. They didn't care much about humans, but if these ones really wanted a fight . . they'd have one. They banked and targeted them, preparing a roar.

"Why is it that every time I shoot something, I make it angry?!" Lync complained, before patting Aluze's head. "It's just another Brawl, let's do this!" He pulled another Ability card from his pocket as his Bakugan obediently lifted off.

Arashi Deta bodyslammed the machine. Aluze's wing and side panelling crumbled like tinfoil and went flying away, crashing into a building several streets across town. Lync flew off and hit a roof with his chest, crashing across the tiles and ending spreadeagled over an arched window.

"Lync!" Masquerade exclaimed, shocked, before manifesting rapid Amaterasu Formulae in preparation of a retributory strike.

Growling, Arashi Deta landed, eyes twinkling with menace. "You insolent humans," they growled.

"Hey . . wait," Pierce frowned. He recognised the Dragon, but she had looked older in the cave . .

"Amaterasu Formula: 28!" A purple explosion briefly blocked Arashi from view amidst magical smoke. Masquerade grinned.

A spiral of grey clouds emerged amidst the purple smoke. Everyone stiffened.

And the Storm Dragon roared, belching out a massive wave of electrified clouds that swarmed across the street and enveloped the entire guild in seconds. On instinct, Tyria pulled Pierce and Grace close to her and cast; "TechType: Forcefield!" A blue protective dome enveloped the three Phoenixes just as lightning surged through the clouds and electrified everyone. _Unbelievable. Of course we get the Dragon with lightning powers while my Lightning Rod's still repairing itself after the fight earlier_ , Tyria silently grumbled. First Laus, now this? Just her luck.

Arashi frowned, seeing a white mist emerge from the grey ocean they'd created. Smoker charged, clutching his jitte, and flew above the Phoenixes, bringing his weapon across Arashi's snout in a crushing blow.

It bounced off, harmless.

For a second the massive dragon went cross-eyed, focusing on the smoky human. Then they exhaled, and the sudden torrent of wind blew Smoker straight back to where he'd come from.

As the smoke cleared, and the blackened Phoenixes got up, Arashi grumbled, more to themself than anything. "I should kill you all now. Consider this my mercy," she declared, raising their head for another attack.

Pierce suddenly flashed on what Kynigós had told him. "No," he whispered, knowing there was nothing he could do that could save anyone, even himself, from this unstoppable beast. Maybe Arashi Deta changed their opinion on humans later in life. It didn't matter. The Dragon in front of them was no friend.

Grace, though, disagreed. She drew breath, still hoping to talk this out, and prepared a rift, intending to jump onto Arashi's snout and talk them down the way she had talked down Equivaton, months ago.

Suddenly, a grey blur came out of nowhere and knocked the dragon backwards, just enough to make her stumble and lose the attack she had been charging.

Everyone turned in surprise, looking at the roof where the blur had landed, and an immediately recognisable figure was standing. "No way," Artorias observed, standing over Sarph, who had been hit especially hard with the lightning.

"Well, what the hell took you so long?" Master Feng smiled.

Faraday stood above them, silhouetted against the night sky. She was almost inhumanly tall, and a massive grey cloak with green trim covered her face and hung around her body, hiding almost every detail of her appearance. Eyes like amber, burnt and glassy, peered out around strands of green hair that hung through the slit in her face. There was a pack on her back, from which four staves would normally protrude, two above each of her shoulders. However, only three were present this time; one made of wood that ended in what looked like a magnifying glass and bore a crown of white feathers, the second made of silver metal that ended in what resembled a spanner, with a bronze gear wedged into it, and the third made of a green substance that had a white leather ribbon around it. The fourth, a black bar that ended in a sphere looking to be made of grey gauze, hung loosely in her hand.

Even Arashi could sense that there was something different about this human. "You dare to interfere?" she growled, fixating on Faraday.

With a flying leap, Faraday landed before the Phoenixes, standing between them and the dragon like an impenetrable wall. "Focus on the little ones. I'll handle this," she declared, and as she did she slung the black stave back into her pack and exchanged it for the green one, pointing it at Arashi Deta to make her meaning clear.

Pierce started. Never in his life had he heard Faraday speak before. "Um, right," he nodded, but paused. "Wait. What 'little ones'?"

But it was too late for questions, as Faraday launched herself forwards with incredible speed, dashing between Arashi's legs and punching the centre of their underbelly, before emerging behind the massive creature. Bending down, the dragon growled, turning and focusing on the only human present who, apparently, was strong enough to actually hurt them.

Turning into a side street, Arashi lunged and wrapped her claws around the assailant - but came away holding empty space.

And suddenly Faraday was perched on the bridge of her nose. "Stop fighting and listen," the human commanded.

"After you assault me?!" the Storm Dragon tossed their head upwards, throwing Faraday into the air and opening their mouth wide, expecting to catch the human in their jaws and swallow her.

Still clutching her green stave, Faraday reached behind her and withdrew the staff that ended in a feathered magnifying glass, flicking it below her - and a golden platform appeared under her feet, on which Faraday landed lightly. The cloth covering her mouth twitched. She was smiling.

Squinting, the Dragon realised that they had been foiled, and lunged upwards, still intending to consume this impertinent human - but suddenly she was gone and their jaws closed on empty air.

And there was something clinging to one of her horns. "I had to get you away from my guild! I can't talk to you with them aroun-" Faraday threw herself away as a massive claw came to grab her, landing on the ground and speeding to stand on the road directly in front of Arashi.

The dragon's nostrils slotted and she lowered her head, growling at the human.

"You want to fight so much?" Faraday questioned. "Fine," She reholstered her two staves and cracked her knuckles. "Let's fight,"

Arashi roared in her face, a stormy typhoon spilling from their jaws and rushing to envelop the most powerful Phoenix. In response, Faraday spread her arms wide, before bringing them together. "Storm Dragon's _Thunderclap!"_ Her palms met and a vertical shockwave of wind split Arashi's attack and sent it crashing to either side of her, leaving the Dragon Slayer untouched.

The Storm Dragon stiffened. "I understand now," she growled.

Faraday smiled again. Maybe she was finally getting through.

"You have some depraved technique to copy the magic of others. How dare you usurp my power?!" Arashi raged, raising their wings and bringing them together above their body in preparation for an even greater attack.

The woman's eyes went wide. "What?! That's not it at all!" she protested, before grumbling to herself and raising her arms in preparation of the assault. Arashi brought their wings down, sending a shockwave of air rushing through the street.

In response, Faraday pulled out the silver staff ending in a gear and spanner, and pointed it at a nearby magicmobile. The vehicle roared to life and drove itself in front of her, turning on its side in the process due to the high speed, and Faraday ducked behind it, barely a second before the shockwave hit. The car absorbed the attack, and Arashi growled, stomping forwards and peering behind her opponent's makeshift refuge. The space was empty. Where had the tiny annoyance gone?

"Storm Dragon's Hail!" Arashi looked up, finding the cloaked human on the roof. Also, there were suddenly chunks of ice raining on her from the heavens. The Dragon spread a wing and tucked her head under it, letting the ice bounce off her scales.

And suddenly Faraday was on the ground again, inhaling and targeting the underside of her sinuous neck. "Storm Dragon's Roar!" A blast of Arashi's own magic hit her from beneath, the first knocking their head upwards. But the Dragon was already reacting, clapping a claw down on the Phoenix.

Grabbing her magnifying glass staff again, Faraday manifested a golden barrier to block Arashi's claws, buying herself enough time to duck out. She reached out with her free hand again, grasping the green stave, and suddenly her speed increased and she dashed to the far end of the road. Standing in the shadow of a clock tower, the Dragon Slayer raised her arm, palm upwards, and beckoned towards herself in a clear gesture. _Come and get me._

The silver dragon charged, lowering her head and intending to gore Faraday on her horns.

Faraday leapt upwards, constructing a staircase of golden light, and clung to the side of the clocktower as Arashi Deta reached the position she had been in moments ago. "Storm Dragon's Thunderclap," Faraday cast, slapping a palm against the tower.

A shockwave flew through the building, sending cracks and fissures through it as the patch that Faraday had touched imploded. Another golden screen protected her as the tower toppled, and the Dragon watched in shock as the uppermost section of the tower collapsed on top of them, forcing their head down and breaking into hundreds of pieces over their back and wings. Debris rained everywhere, and smoke engulfed the street.

After a moment, the triangular head of Arashi Deta emerged. "You think that's enough to stop me?!" they roared.

Faraday stood on her golden platform and looked down. "No. But I needed you to hold still," she shamelessly admitted, raising her arms. Suddenly, her hand was on fire. Blue flames that didn't burn enveloped her fingers, before racing across and covering her entire body. The blue fire washed out of the slit Faraday's eyes were visible through, transforming her appearance into that of a vengeful flaming spectre. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!"

Arashi blinked. This sounded like the human was winding up for a big attack. If everything she'd done up until now was only her basic spells . . this was going to hurt.

As Faraday cast, there was an echoing roar that drowned out all other noise, including the name of her Spell. A massive hurricane came down from the heavens, awash with the same blue fire that had enveloped Faraday. The storm roared, unleashing waves of fiery destruction in every direction that demolished every building within a mile except the one that Faraday was standing on. And then the flaming supercell tornado crashed down on Arashi like a massive, divine hammer, atomising the debris that trapped her and overwhelming her with sheer power.

After several painstaking moments, the fires around them both died down. Coughing and wheezing, Arashi Deta found it was a struggle to even raise her head as Faraday returned to ground level and stared her down. "Who . . what are you?" the Dragon managed to wheeze.

"I'm with Cardinal, _bitch,"_ Faraday declared.

The dragon's eyes went wide. "You know Cardinal?"

"Yes. Now shut up and hear me out,"

-[CoT]-

While battles were raging down below, Natsu was clinging to Motherglare's tail, targeting Ryos, who was on the dragon's back. "Just what are you trying to accomplish?!" the Fire Dragon Slayer shouted at Ryos.

The man paused for a second, then a small smile played across his lips. "Would you believe me if I told you I was trying to save the world?"

"Yeah? How's that?" Natsu climbed onto Motherglare's back, staring Ryos down.

"There's an organisation, called the Canopy. Their agents are immortal beings called TFEI. They've been hiding in the shadows of the world for centuries, pulling strings and trying to take over. They want to plunge the world into chaos for eternity. That's why I came back from the future, to stop them,"

Natsu scoffed. "What, like a paradox?"

Ryos frowned. "Sort of, I suppose,"

"Well, back in the castle, Gus told me that paradoxes aren't real. And after that crap you made up saying Lucy had to die, I'm not gonna believe a word you say!" Natsu roared. "And even if there is this 'Canopy', Fairy Tail will just beat them like we've beaten everyone else!" Suddenly the boy's body erupted in flame, and he roared, "Right after we beat you!" Ryos' eyes widened as Natsu slammed a fist into Motherglare's back, knocking her off-balance and sending her toppling back towards the ground.

"That's not - you can't just punch a foe like the Canopy and expect them to stay down -" Ryos spluttered, but Natsu ignored him.

Instead, the Fire Dragon Slayer breathed in deep, before roaring at the top of his lungs; "Can you hear me?! Let's quit playing around and use our Dragon Slayer Magic! There are nine dragons, and we got nine Dragon Slayers! It's what we were born for! Our whole lives have led to this day! Let's use our power, and slay some freaking dragons!"

"Damn you!" Ryos roared.

"Who's with me?! 'Cause I'm going Dragon-hunting!" Natsu roared, and a massive plume of fire erupted from Motherglare's back.

"You said it, Dragneel," Kynigós declared, smiling up at the falling dragon. "Okay, Zena. Let's go find your dad,"

"Kay kay," his sister nodded.

Kynigós rounded a corner, and found a dragon. For a second, he thought that it might be Equivaton - but no, while it was definitely an earth dragon, its scales were grey, there were massive stone spikes on its back, and its face was squashed and ugly.

"Pierce!" A trio of boys around his age greeted him excitedly. "It's good to see a friend, man!" declared a short man with cheeks that looked like they'd been carved from stone.

". . Who are you lot?" Kynigós questioned.

"Food!" the Dragon looming over them interrupted, lunging downwards. Kynigós rolled his eyes and jumped upwards, slamming a punch into the beast's chin and shouting, "Earth Dragon's Titanic Fist!"

"Ow!" the Dragon cried, stumbling backwards. "That actually kind of hurt. I'm surprised you made me feel that through my rocky skin,"

"Since when are you a Dragon Slayer?" Blue Pegasus questioned.

Kynigós ignored them. "Hold on. Your skin's made of rock?" he confirmed.

"Yes,"

The hunter licked his lips. "Not Earth, but close enough," Dropping Zena to the ground and trusting her to take care of herself for a minute or two, he lunged upwards and tore, with his teeth, a mouthful of rock from the dragon's chin. "Hey! What are you doing? You can't eat me!"

"Why not?" Kynigós challenged, swallowing. Equivaton hadn't been joking, eating your element really did help. He could already feel the added power.

Maybe Ryos had more experience. Maybe he had two types of Dragon Slayer Magic. But Kynigo had learned from Arashi Deta that bathing in the blood of a dragon makes a Dragon Slayer stronger - and he'd done that.

And Ryos didn't have a Dragon made of stuff that he could eat.

-[CoT]-

Suddenly, hundreds of eggs started raining down on Crocus. One of them landed right in front of Phoenix's Eye, who had been trying to avoid getting caught in Faraday's crossfire.

"Is that a dragon egg?" Grace asked, excited.

"I suppose?" Boomer shrugged.

"It's not like it's gonna hatch immediately after being laid," Sarph shrugged.

The egg began to crack.

". . Okay, so maybe they will hatch immediately, but it's not like baby dragons are going to be much of a threat," Sarph added.

The eggs shattered, and a humanoid, wingless dragon emerged from the egg, making a keening noise and snarling at Phoenix's Eye.

A tick mark appeared on Sarph's forehead. "Oh, come on!"

"Oh. Those little ones," Pierce observed, guessing that Faraday had seen some of these miniature dragons in different parts of the city and knew they were coming.

"Grace," Masquerade turned to the young Dragon Slayer, who looked at him. "Alice thinks Natsu's right, but his count's off. There are nine Dragons, and eight Dragon Slayers. If Faraday's taking care of that one, you and Team Pierce should go find another dragon and engage them,"

Grace frowned, but nodded. "Um, right. Big bro! Tyria, Boomer! Sarph, Hare? We need to go fight a Dragon!"

There was a flash, and suddenly the Sonic Boom was pulling up next to her. The door swung open, and Boomer grinned from the driver's seat. "Way ahead of you. Hop in!"

"Like hell!" Hare shouted, gesturing at the draconic creature that was being mauled by Artorias and Sif. "I'm not leaving Totoma-ah, our guild if there are more of those things!"

"That's fair," Pierce agreed, swinging into one of the Sonic Boom's passenger seats. "The five of us will be fine,"

"TechType: Motorbike!" Tyria cast, summoning her hover-cycle, and Sarph jumped onto the rear seat.

"Don't worry, everyone! We'll -" Pierce was interrupted as Boomer jetted away, driving the Sonic Boom through the debris as Tyria followed.

There was a moment of silence as Phoenix's Eye watched them go. "You'll what?" Kinana fruitlessly called after them.

"We've got more of those things incoming!" Smoker warned the Phoenixes, before addressing his Marines. "Men! Fire when ready!"

"Sir!"

 _-[CoT]-_

 _It's time for Doctor Kit's Documentaries on Phoenix's Eye!_

 _"Am I seriously being used as a glorified recap now?" Kit sulked._

 _"Just say the line!" the author instructed._

 _"There was a time when this segment had dignity, you know . . but fine. Since you've all probably forgotten, Kynigós actually has bathed in dragon blood. Well, sort of. Play the clip!"_

"I am Kixezen, the Life Dragon," the dragoness murmured, forcing herself to move her snout forwards, until Kynigós was mere inches from the tip of the massive dragon. She could have swallowed him in one bite, but, instead, she parted her jaws and exhaled, blowing a stream of glowing white energy at Kynigós. "The power of old, born anew. Lies swept away, revealing the truth. And in barren soil," She suddenly broke off into a fit of coughing. A thick globule of her blood emerged from her throat and hit Kynigós' chest, immediately soaking through his jacket and shirt. "A seed may grow," she finished.

 _"There, you see that? Kynigós is absolutely covered in dragon blood. Sure, it's only the blood of one dragon, compared to the hundreds that Acnologia bathed in to become the Apocalypse Dragon, but it's more than all the other Dragon Slayers have," Kit explained, before thoughtfully adding, "Except maybe Faraday. Even I don't know what's going on with her,"_

 _"And, speaking of Faraday, the blue flame she used when she cast the supercell spell that the author is intentionally leaving nameless for the time being?"_

Suddenly, her hand was on fire. Blue flames that didn't burn enveloped her fingers, before racing across and covering her entire body. The blue fire washed out of the slit Faraday's eyes were visible through, transforming her appearance into that of a vengeful flaming spectre. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!"

 _"That's the same as what Pierce used in Chapter 114,"_

Blue flames erupted from the back of Pierce's hand. His guild mark was on fire. The new fire rapidly spread, racing up his arm, enveloping his body, and circling around his eyes. Under normal circumstances, Pierce would have panicked, but it didn't hurt, so he embraced it and roared with all his might, "Phoenix's Eye _F_ ** _0_** _REVER!"_

 _"Jus in case someone forgot or didn't make the connection . . Wait, is that seriously it? But I haven't even been in the story since Chapter 109! I want more screentime!"_

 _A/N_

 **A/N**

 **The Dragon King Festival is in full swing, and for the first time we get to see what Faraday is like in action! But you'll see more from her next chapter. And Kynigós and Ryos are fixing for a showdown.**

 **Also, Equivaton's back! Except this is technically his first appearance ever, at least as far as he's concerned. Time travel is weird, and I'm only getting started.**

 **Also, this is the penultimate proper chapter before the hiatus. I still can barely believe I actually have to put this story on hiatus . . Also, I'm still hoping that my lovely, loyal readers will take a stab at writing their own fan fiction about Phoenix's Eye? Submissions are open, anyone can enter! Peace!**


	47. Family Reunion

Chapter 117: Family Reunion

 ** _Previously, on "Apocrypha" . . ._**

 _The floor of the room dropped out, only for a massive platform to rise out of the earth. The hunter watched in awe as the huge machine on the platform was revealed, and, above them, the roof unfolded and fell away._

 _A massive body of gleaming black titanium, covered entirely with razor-sharp blades. Jet engines were mounted on the back, with unfoldable wings tucked around them. Four legs, bristling with pistons and pumps, supported it, and a long, segmented tail unfolded, ending in what was unmistakably some kind of giant gun. Glowing blue eyes shone, and a massive mouth bristling with titanic teeth snapped shut._

 _"No freaking way," Asuka gasped, watching the massive, mechanical dragon, now exposed to the sky as the walls of the bunker fell away, roar. Printed on its side were the words 'AST-ROBOT DRACO 2.0'._

-[CoT]-

"Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!" Kynigós started in surprise as a newcomer leapt from a nearby roof and punched the rock dragon's back, splattering sickly liquid all over it. "Another one?!" the rock Dragon moaned.

Kynigós blinked. _Poison_ . . "Hey! Stop that! You're ruining my meal!" he shouted.

"What - hold on. Pierce?!" Erik questioned, looking up at the hunter below him. "No. You're not Pierce," he frowned, listening. His heartbeat, the way his body moved, the metallic clinks from his prosthetic arm . . it was all different and unfamiliar.

The boy groaned. "My name's Kynigós, I'm from another universe. And I can't eat that dragon when it's covered in your gunk!"

"I'm not letting either of you eat me!" the Dragon in question roared, throwing Erik off. The Poison Dragon Slayer landed nearby, and looked closer at the newcomer. "There's a universe where Pierce is a dragon killing war veteran?" he questioned, taking in the artificial arm and khaki coat, which still had faint stains of dragon blood on it from months ago.

Kynigós decided the easiest way to answer that question was "Yes,"

"Interesting," the one-eyed man nodded, before lunging at the Dragon again. "Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw!"

Kynigós watched as he jumped over the dragon and targeted its forehead. "What are you doing?!" he hollered, as Erik's attack bounced off.

The Dragon chuckled as the man retorted; "Fighting!"

"Like that?" Kynigós scathingly retorted, unimpressed by the inefficiency of the attack.

"It's clear which of you is the superior," the rocky creature snorted as Erik landed next to Kynigós again. "I'd like to see you do any better,"

"So would I," the dragon chuckled, twitching his tail in amusement.

"Fine. Watch and learn," Kynigós declared, charging forwards. The Dragon chuckled, amused.

"Earth Dragon's Jawbreaker!" the hunter roared, launching a two-handed uppercut that smashed straight through the thinner rock on the underside of the dragon's chin, exposing the flesh underneath and spreading cracks through the armour. The Dragon screamed in shock and pain, rearing backwards and almost tripping. Retreating, Kynigós grabbed a couple of rocky scales and quickly swallowed them, feeling new power surge through him.

Erik watched in amazement. "How did you do that?"

"When you're fighting a dragon, you can't beat them with brute force alone. The human body just isn't tough enough. You've got to target their weak points! It's the first rule of being a hunter, know your prey and exploit their weaknesses!"

 _"YOU INSOLENT, PUNY FLESHBAGS!"_ Suddenly the dragon was back on his feet and lunging towards them. "I'll swallow you whole!"

The snake charmer nodded. "Alright, I'll try it," He leapt under the dragon's jaws and launched an attack at the exposed flesh. "Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!" To his shock, his attack made contact, the corrosive poison eating into the flesh and causing it to begin to decay. "That worked!"

"Argh!" The Dragon suddenly collapsed, the poison entering his system. Erik hastily rejoined Kynigós. "Tell me all that again," he instructed.

"Why?"

"Trust me!"

"Alright. If you're fighting a dragon, you have to target their weak points!" Kynigós was shocked to suddenly find his voice amplified to a massive volume. No doubt he could be heard all over the city. He understood now - every Dragon Slayer, every wizard, even, in the city needed to know this, and Erik was able to spread the word. "The throat, the wing joints, the underbelly! You won't be able to beat them with brute force alone. Fight dirty! Use every trick at your disposal! Against dragons, you'll die if you give anything less than everything!"

Erik nodded. "There's more dragons in the city. Two of us here means there's one dragon with no one to slay it. I can handle this guy now that he's poisoned, you take . . um . . wait," he frowned, finally recognising Zena for the baby dragon that she was, who looked scared and upset.

Kynigós picked up Zena again, the pony-sized lizard clinging to his pack gratefully. "I promise that if we both live through this I'll explain everything. But you're right. I've got a dragon to find and a murdering asshole to kill," And with that, he dashed off.

"I've never felt so redundant in my life," Ichiya weakly admitted. "Can it and keep fighting," Erik instructed.

-[CoT]-

As Kynigós' voice echoed through the city, the other Dragon Slayers head it and gave their assent. "Weak spots, eh? Why didn't I think of that?" Gajeel grinned.

"Oh, shut up. I'll fight how I want to!" Sting shouted back. "Actually, he has a solid point. It's not honourable, but with lives on the line honour becomes a bit moot," Rogue pointed out, opening a pit of shadow beneath Scissor Runner's foot and letting him sink into it and become bogged down, giving him an opening to strike at the dragon's underbelly.

"Damnit, what's the weak spot of a dragon made entirely of fire?" Laxus questioned from the street where the Thunder Legion was fighting Atlas Flame. "Water!" Freed realised. "Where'd Juvia go? We need her help!"

-[CoT]-

Kynigós growled, looking around. "How the hell did I lose a goddamn dragon?!" he demanded. Equivaton had flown into the smoke rising from that one dragon made of fire, and Kynigós and Zena couldn't see him anymore. "Where the hell are you, you big lizard?"

And then a massive foot landed in front of him. The hunter paused, looking up at a huge creature of black titanium, built like a tyrannosaurus, with glowing blue eyes, power conduits and exposed pistons covering its body, and massive wings.

He grinned, recognising the design work. "No freaking way! Talk about a blast from the past . . or maybe the future . ." the boy shrugged. "Hey, Astro! I need a lift!" he hollered up at the machine.

The robotic dragon paused and looked down at him. "Oh! Pierce! It's good to see you! How do you like my Ast-robot Draco?" Astro's voice burst from the machine's speakers.

"I liked the other version more. This one doesn't have enough sharp edges," Kynigós critically replied.

"What other version?"

The hunter blinked, realising his mistake. "Um, not important. Look, did you see a big brown dragon pass by here?"

"Yes, I did," The robot seemed to smile, extending a claw. "Want a lift?"

Zena whooped for joy as the Draco took off. "Hey, you're driving this thing with remote control, right?" he checked.

"Yes,"

"Good," Kynigós nodded.

Suddenly, Zena squealed, "Big lizid!" Peering through the smoke, Kynigós smiled, seeing Equivaton's familiar rear end. His father figure's head was inside a building, which seemed to be in the process of collapsing. Not that that bothered him.

And then the Draco was knocked sideways by an unexpected attack. The machine tucked Kynigós and Zena into its underbelly, protecting them from the impact, as it hit the ground and rolled onto its back.

They were under attack by Ryos himself; the large grey dragon he was riding - Motherglare, Kynigós thought he'd heard her name was - having blasted them into the ground with a roar.

"Oh, I see. It's not a tenth Dragon. It's just a robot," Ryos grumbled. "Explains why my Dragon Supremacy Magic isn't having any effect . ." he realised. Then he paused, seeing a tiny splodge of yellow within. Kynigós' blond hair. "Oh! Is that you down there, Kynigós? Are you really so jealous of my Dragon Supremacy Magic that you'd resort to using that pitiful imitation in a vain attempt to keep up?"

Kynigós glared, before elbowing the Draco. "Astro. Fire the tail gun,"

"Tail gun? I don't have a tail gun. That's a good idea, though," the inventor's voice echoed.

Kynigós tched. Of course he came back from the future and found that technology wasn't as advanced as it would be in seven years. "Fine. I'll do it myself!" he declared, pulling himself and Zena free. "Earth Dragon's Roar!" Motherglare remained motionless for a moment as a storm of rocks battered her face. "Is that it?" she growled.

Nearby, a massive eyebrow lifted.

"Astro, take care of Zena," Kynigós commanded, dropping Zena back into the duped claw. "Zena, stay here. I'll be back soon," The dragonet whimpered, but nodded, as Kynigós charged, a spire of rock shooting from the ground to propel him upwards. Zena frowned, and ran in pursuit, leaving the battered robot behind.

"For you, it's barely been two weeks since our last fight, correct?" Ryos demanded. "I've had months to improve and prepare for this moment! Shadow Dragon's Roar!" he declared, catching Kynigós in mid-air and blowing him backwards. The hunter growled, producing his grappling hook -

And a massive claw caught him. Startled, Kynigós frantically looked around, and took in Equivaton's massive head. Huge red eyes stared at him. "You're a Dragon Slayer. But not just that, you're using _my_ element," Equivaton rumbled, looking suspicious.

"I don't have time for this, you big lizard! I'll explain everything later, but right now I've gotta kill that bastard, so help or stay out of my way!" the man yelled.

Equivaton frowned. "Time's been put out of order. I'm in the future. If you're a Dragon Slayer student of mine, then at some point in my future I'm going to meet you and like you enough to teach you," he surmised.

"Yeah, no shit! What about 'I don't have time for this' do you not understand?" Kynigós demanded. Frowning, he changed tack. "Look, sort out how you feel about me later, but see Zena down there? That's your future daughter, and that guy's tried to kill her twice. If I know you, you don't like that any more than I do,"

This gave Equivaton serious pause. "My . . daughter?" he repeated in disbelief.

Ryos snarled as Motherglare swooped in again, preparing an attack. "Hate to break up the family reunion, but you all have to die!"

And then a few dozen tons of Earth Dragon intercepted. "YOU KEEP YOUR FILTHY CLAWS OFF MY FAMILY!" Equivaton roared with a fury that Kynigós had never before seen from him, tackling the other dragon with such force that Motherglare was thrown into a nearby building.

"Kill the human. I'll get the dragon!" Equivaton commanded, physically throwing Kynigós at Ryos as he lunged for Motherglare.

Ryos barely realised what was going on before Kynigós was hitting him with a flying kick. The Holy Shadow Dragon Slayer was thrown backwards, but Kynigós wasn't done. A climbing pick appeared in his hand and he caught Ryos' black coat, pulling him back in and punching him again, this time targeting his shoulder, in the place where he had shot Ryos during their previous encounter. On reflex, Ryos jerked back and spasmed, and the hunter grinned. So the wound hadn't healed. Ryos had a weak point.

"You're still using those cheap tricks?!" Ryos spat, leaping back and pounding his fists together. "White Shadow Dragon Mode! You just can't beat me with raw power!" he roared, flying at Kynigós. Motherglare suddenly took off, leaping into the air to escape Equivaton.

The hunter ducked and rolled away, catching Ryos' arm and pressing down on his weak left shoulder to force him to the ground. But the man prevailed, and for a moment they struggled. "No Dragon Slayer ever killed a dragon by overpowering them!"

Ryos bucked and threw him away. "Acnologia did," he declared, charging an attack. "White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!"

"Then you've got a hell of a way of picking your role models!" Kynigós retorted, dancing and dodging the attack. Suddenly, Equivaton lashed out at Motherglare, knocking her sideways. Ryos span and caught himself on a wing joint, while Kynigós dug his pick into a crack between scales and clung to it while Motherglare righted herself. "Perhaps you could take this somewhere else, master?!" she roared, cuffing Equivaton's jaw with her foreleg.

"Pitiful, that a dragon would call a human master," the male dragon snorted, head butting her in the throat. The dragoness span backwards again, causing both Kynigós and Ryos to slide off her back. Ryos managed to find purchase on a scale, but Kynigós fell.

As he plummeted towards the ground below, Kynigós gritted his teeth and pulled his parachute, a silken blue canopy erupting outwards and catching the air, arresting his fall and presenting the duelling dragons with a massive Phoenix's Eye symbol.

Ryos grinned and jumped, knowing the parachute made Kynigós an easy target. "White Shadow Dragon's Crushing Fang!" he roared, punching straight through the parachute and tearing a massive hole in it.

But Kynigós wasn't beneath it. His hunter's pack dangled alone at the bottom. "What?"

On the ground below, Kynigós smirked. Ryos had fallen for it. "Earth Dragon's Roar!" he declared, blasting holes in his parachute and catching Ryos in the attack. The silk shredded, Ryos crashed to the ground.

As the hunter advanced, Ryos sprang up, clutching Kynigós' trademark hunter's pack. "No more tricks!" he barked, building a charge of white magic in his hand, before slamming it into the ratty, stained pack.

There was a flash of light, and the rucksack exploded.

Kynigós stilled as fragments of burnt fabric and metal rained down around the man from the future. "That was my father's, you bastard!" he roared, lunging forwards.

Ryos blocked his left-handed punch. "What are you going to do? I'm the better Dragon Slayer,"

"But I'm the better hunter!" And suddenly Kynigós' rifle was pressed against Ryos' forehead. The older man's smile dimmed, feeling the cold steel against his forehead. Kynigós'steely glare met his eyes, and he pulled the trigger.

Ryos was knocked backwards, and a bullet bounced away.

Kynigós blinked. The skin in his forehead had hardened and turned black, and the bullet had bounced off, leaving only a splodge that would likely bruise later.

"I thought I said no more tricks. We fight Dragon Slayer to Dragon Slayer," Ryos declared, steadily advancing.

"Why would I fight you in a way I know I'd lose?" Kynigós back-pedalled, mentally running through the contents of his pouches and pockets.

"That's the point! White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" Ryos cast, launching a barrage of white and black beams of harmful light. Kynigós braced for the assault.

A high-pitched noise interrupted them both, and green lasers from behind Ryos obliterated the attacks. Ryos blinked. "What the . . ?"

As Equivaton and Motherglare grappled in the background, Zena stood before them, her spines and maw glowing with green light.

Ryos snorted in amusement. "So she's an Energy Dragon. Interesting!"

Kynigós went pale. "No! Get out of here!" he commanded.

"No! I'mma help! I'mma fight!" Zena growled.

"You think you can defeat me? A baby? I've killed dragons ten times your size!" Ryos declared, struggling to contain his laughter.

The blond sighed. "Fine. Okay, Zena? Like we practised before!" he commanded.

The dragonet nodded, breathing in deep. Green light played around her teeth, and she roared, launching a green laser at Ryos' chest.

But she was slow, and the murderer sidestepped it with ease. "Is that the best you've got? You can't even hit me!"

"Hey, asshole," With a small noise of confusion, Ryos turned back and eyed Kynigós.

The hunter was wiping traces of green saliva from his mouth. "She wasn't aiming at you!" Kynigós declared, his eyes glowing with green light. And suddenly he was in front of Ryos and slamming his head into the ground.

Ryos pivoted and punched him in the face, sending him skidding back. "What? How are you suddenly faster?" he demanded, taking in Kynigós' appearance. His eyes were glowing, and green cracks were running across his hands, as though he was made of rock and green earthquakes were ripping him apart. No way . . he couldn't have . .

"I got the idea after you told me about how you got a Dual Element Mode. If you can be both a White and Shadow Dragon Slayer, then I can be an Earth and Energy Dragon Slayer!" Kynigós grinned. "I've been working on it since we time travelled, actually. I still can't get it going on command, I need Zena to charge me up. But now that it's turned on?" He grinned, and lunged forwards, bringing back his fists. "Earth Energy Dragon's Shining Barrage!"

Ryos futilely tried to dodge the rain of brown and green fists that came down on him, but in his enhanced state Kynigós was too fast. It only took a moment before Ryos collapsed under the pressure, before melting into shadow and sinking into the ground.

Kynigós growled. "Who's using cheap tricks now, melting into shadows like that?"

"You said yourself, whatever it takes to win," Ryos appeared behind him and struck him in the back. Kynigós stumbled forward and span, throwing another punch, but Ryos was already sinking into the ground. The hunter stiffened, watching the inky shadow and realising that it was going after Zena. "Oh, no you don't! Not again!" he roared, lunging after the shadow.

There was an earthshaking crash, and Motherglare's unconscious form hit the ground. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, throwing Ryos out of the shadow and back into a physical form, his coat rippling from the shockwave. And before he could hit the ground, a massive brown claw picked him up. The older man got the slightest glimpse of a massive red eye, before Equivaton threw him into the air.

Kynigós watched Ryos fly upwards, but turned his attention back to the Earth Dragon. "I saw that little shadow trick. But I'll bet he can't do it in mid-air. Are you in?" the massive dragon questioned, offering his claw.

Kynigós jumped in with a feral grin. "Hell yeah,"

With a quick motion, Equivaton threw the hunter skywards after Ryos. Looking up and keeping himself streamlined, Kynigós saw his opponent's toppling form and readied an attack.

Ryos' climb reached its apex, and the shadowy man saw Kynigós below him. "No . . no!"

"Earth Energy Dragon's . ." Kynigós paused for a second. He hadn't named this technique, given Equivaton had only just invented it. "Just die!" he roared, hitting Ryos like a cannonball. The full force of his body slammed into Ryos, then he punched him in the chin with one hand and grabbed his coat with the other, flipping their positions and holding Ryos beneath him.

They fell to the ground a hundred feet below, Kynigós holding his struggling enemy in place, and the two men's combined weight landed on Ryos' face.

His arms feeling like they had turned to jelly, Kynigós blearily looked up. "I'm . . I'm gonna call that one the Earth Energy Dragon's Furious Meteor. Remember that, future me! Just in case this ever happens again!"

Equivaton and Zena peered at him. "I think the fall knocked him senseless," the older dragon observed.

"I'm fine. And, more importantly, he's down," Kynigós growled, looking at Ryos with hatred. With gritted teeth, he rolled the man onto his back, taking in the crushed mess of blood that his face had become. "Oi, big lizard. I don't want Zena to see this,"

Equivaton nodded, picking up the young dragon and dropping her behind a pile of debris, curling his tail around her. "Who are you calling a lizard?" he groused.

"I called you that all the time - the you that I knew, at least. You'll get used to it," the hunter assured him, before looking back at Ryos. Who had opened his eye.

"You don't know what you've done," Ryos spluttered, glaring at Kynigós.

"Stopped the world from being taken over by a power-mad murderer. Seems pretty clear-cut to me," the hunter shrugged, reaching into his pocket with his metal arm and pulling out a knife.

"I wasn't trying to rule the world . . ." Ryos trailed off, and Kynigós cocked an eyebrow. His metal fingers paused. "I was trying to _save_ it,"

"Save the world? By taking it over with an army of dragons? What the hell kind of logic is that?" Kynigós incredulously demanded.

"The Dragon King Festival . . averted a far worse calamity to come. I," Ryos coughed, spitting blood. "I spied on Macbeth, back in the future. The . . The canopy will cover the sky, and the universe will be plunged into chaos, for eternity. That's what he said,"

Kynigós snorted, immediately assuming that this was another one of Ryos' lies . . most likely some way of torturing him emotionally in retribution for victory . . but this seemed like a very elaborate thing to invent for that purpose. Invoking Macbeth, of all people? Mind, depending on how you looked at it it had been Macbeth's fault that Equivaton had died in the future . . was Ryos actually telling the truth?

"He was supposed to kill you and Lucy. Someone called Clockwork told him to because you're a threat to the guys he was working for," the man choked out through his broken nose.

"So he was supposed to kill me and Lucy, but _not_ Equivaton?" Kynigós snorted. "Yeah, I've heard enough," he growled. His metal fingers tensed around the blade in his hand.

It was a simple motion. One thrust and his foe's lifeblood was leaking out onto the street.

"You should . . have let . . me win," Ryos choked his last words out, before going still.

"You sealed your fate when you killed Asuka," Kynigós hoped that Ryos had clung to life long enough to hear those words.

Shaking his head, the hunter turned back to Equivaton. "Asuka? Who was that?" the dragon asked.

Kynigós waved the question off. "A friend. It's too soon, though . ."

"She died recently, at his hands," Equivaton guessed, settling down.

"A week and a half ago. For me, at least, time travel is weird,"

Equivaton nodded, eyeing him. "So, tell me. How long have I been dead for?"

The boy blinked. "What? Um . ."

"It's fine. I know I'd never willingly leave my daughter at an age like that. She can't be more than a year old,"

"Eight months, give or take, actually," Kynigós corrected, joining Zena behind the debris and settling down. "We really should be moving. There's still seven other dragons rampaging in this city,"

"There's also nine other Dragon Slayers. It'll be fine," Equivaton shrugged, letting Zena nuzzle him.

The human nodded. For a second, he wondered; nine? Not including himself? He'd only counted seven among the wizards in the Games, plus that Cobra guy . . eh, maybe there'd been one in one of the competing guilds who didn't make the final eight. No big deal. "Well, whatever. I'm glad to see you again,"

"It probably won't be for long, you know. If you know me in the past, then I'll have to return to the past eventually," Equivaton pointed out. "Otherwise I won't be around to train you,"

Kynigós smiled sadly. "I guess this is like a bonus, then. One last chance to say goodbye,"

"Goodbye?" Zena parroted.

"Yeah, Zena. This is probably going to be the last time we'll see this big lizard," Kynigós admitted.

"Oh," the white hatchling murmured, looking downwards. Equivaton pressed his massive maw to her. "Don't worry, little one. I'll always be with you. In here," he rumbled, pressing a claw to Zena's chest.

"In my tummy?"

"In your heart," Equivaton assured her. "And as for you," he glared at Kynigós. "I don't know what the hell I'm going to see in you that will make me want to take you on as a protégée, but I suppose that's just part of the journey. At least tell me I'm going to die saving your lives,"

"Yeah . . it was really brave," Kynigós confirmed, trying not to cry. ". . Damnit, I don't want you to go! You're the first . . I lost everyone that I cared about, and then I found you and Zena and Asuka, and then I lost you and now I'm losing you again . . it's not fair, damnit!" he sobbed, beating against the massive claw.

"I know. Life's like that sometimes. You just have to make the most of the time you have. And it sounds to me like I did a damn good job of that," Equivaton replied. "So do me a favour. Make the most of the time you have, alright? You and Zena are still alive, even if I'm not. Don't waste even one second of your lives thinking about me,"

A dry chuckle escaped Kynigos' throat. "You know, Asuka asked me to do something similar right before she died," he admitted. "But alright. I'll live life to the fullest in your memory,"

Footsteps interrupted them. "Excuse me?" an unfamiliar voice interrupted. All three turned to see a tall woman in a grey cloak approaching. Faraday seemed unusually hesitant.

"Who are you?" Kynigós questioned.

"People call me Faraday. Forgive me, but I've been watching for a while. It's nice, seeing you all like this, as a family . . I'm supposed to send Equivaton back," the older woman declared.

"Back . . to his time? Four hundred years ago?" Kynigós surmised,

"Not exactly. It's very complicated and I'm really not supposed to explain it to you all, but I'm the one who sent Equivaton to meet you in the past, while you were on the Sempiternal Phoenix. And that's what I'm supposed to do, right now," Faraday explained.

"What the hell do you mean, what you're supposed to do?" Kynigós growled, rising, but Equivaton shook his head. "No, I understand. I can sense that you're very powerful," he addressed Faraday.

Kynigós blinked. "How powerful?"

"Powerful enough that I don't think I could fight her and win," Equivaton grumbled.

"You're _shitting_ me,"

"It's true," Faraday shrugged. "I shouldn't even be talking to you, my mission brief said I'm just supposed to zap Equivaton and be done with it . . but I know what it's like to lose a family,"

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" Kynigós demanded.

Faraday paused for a second. "I . . alright. The truth is -" Suddenly, her body went stiff. She raised her arms, and in an instant built a charge of magic of an intensity that Kynigós had never felt before. " **0** pen the r **1** ft and pass n **0** w," the older woman chanted, her voice taking on an unearthly tone.

Equivaton suddenly kissed Zena, before backing away from them both. "Goodbye, you two. Just remember,"

"Thr **0** ugh the eye **0** f the l **0** nely st **0** rm,"

"I love you," And suddenly there was an Equivaton-shaped hole in the world.

A rush of air filled in the sudden vacuum, almost blowing Kynigós over.

"Bye bye daddy," Zena murmured.

Kynigós' eye twitched, and he rounded on Faraday, who blinked and looked down at herself. "What the hell?!" he demanded.

"What? But . . I didn't -"

"You twisted fuck! Were you just trying to distract us?" the boy demanded, advancing on her.

"I don't . ." Faraday seemed stunned and confused, but Kynigós wasn't interested. "I didn't even say goodbye!" he roared, and threw an overhead punch at her cheek.

The blow landed, and Faraday stumbled backwards, briefly losing her footing. Kynigós' fingers found the cloth mask around her face, and as he retracted his fist, he ripped it off, exposing the face of the most powerful Phoenix.

Orange eyes filled with guilt stared back at him, framed by green hair. Kynigós inhaled sharply, stepping back. He knew that face. It belonged to that little girl who the other him called a sister. Grace. But . . Faraday was just so slightly different. She was older, sure, but her jaw lines, her cheek bones, they weren't the same, they were more angular. And her teeth, they were sharper, carnivorous. Not to mention the apparent age gap. She wasn't Grace, he could tell that much . . but she might be a relative.

He blinked, and in an instant, Faraday had disappeared.

Gritting his teeth, he returned to Zena, shaking his head. His sister affectionately nuzzled him. "Find da princess?" she suggested.

"Yeah. Let's get you back to the palace, where it's safe," Kynigós declared. "Faraday . . you'll pay for that,"

-[CoT]-

In a distant part of the city, Faraday reappeared. Immediately, she collapsed to all fours, breathing heavily. "What just happened . . what did I just do?"

"That was very naughty," Faraday looked up, and saw a smile. Asakura simpered down at her. "You know you can't just tell anyone whatever you want. That violates the terms of your agreement,"

"It was you. Wasn't it? You forced me . ."

"Not just her," Faraday blinked and turned, seeing Ariel behind her. The other Phoenix wasn't smiling, instead looking torn between being angry and upset. She stammered for a second, looking for the right words. ". . . Cardinal's going to be mad," she finally mustered.

"That wasn't what I agreed to," Faraday retorted.

"Bullshit. That was exactly what you agreed to. You owed Cardinal a favour in exchange for our help," Asakura interrupted, still smiling. "Besides, now the universe won't collapse into a paradox. Isn't that great?"

"You didn't say I'd be breaking up their family!" the older woman screamed.

Asakura regarded her curiously. "Was that an important detail? I didn't think so,"

"Enough. It's done, and you didn't reveal anything that would jeopardise us," Ariel interrupted the conversation.

"I really hate you. All of you, you damn TFEIs, blue or red. You think you're so much better than the Canopy, but you're not. You and your faceless pope, Cardinal . ." Faraday growled, gritting her fangs.

A stormy expression overtook Ariel's face. "You take that back!"

Faraday locked eyes with the bluenette and offered a defiant glare. "Make me. Like you made me kill Equivaton,"

Ariel gritted her teeth. "If that's how you really feel about us, then fine . . but don't expect any more help from me, or any of us!" she spat. "You hear me, Faraday? From here on in, you're on your own!"

Faraday didn't respond, and Ariel span on her heel and stomped off. "Come on, Asakura. Let's go save the world,"

"Okie dokie. Bye now!" Asakura cheerfully skipped after her. Suddenly, she paused, and eyed Faraday, still slumped in a heap in the ground. "Oh, and don't feel like you're a useless failure of a person who'll never achieve anything worthwhile. I mean, it's true, but lots of people lie to themselves. You shouldn't feel bad about it,"

As the TFEIs left, Faraday just pounded the ground in frustration.

-[CoT]-

Half an hour earlier, Ur Milkovitch had been on the verge of casting her greatest Spell. Arc of Time: Last Ages.

"It's insufficient," a voice had interrupted.

"What?" Ultear blinked, turning around.

Yuki Nagato stood before her, shaking her head. "The Last Ages Spell. Your life force is insufficient. You'll rewind time by just one minute,"

"What? But . . how do you know this?"

"That's classified. Soon my friends will arrive. With our assistance, it will be sufficient," Yuki assured her.

"A total stranger is asking me to wait . ." Ultear murmured to herself. "And for some reason I'm listening . ."

"Here," Ultear blinked, finding a book being pressed into her hands. "Reading always helps," the purplette quietly admitted, producing another book and sitting down with her back pressed to an abandoned magicmobile. After a moment, the Sorciere witch shrugged and joined her.

At the present, Ariel and Asakura were walking towards them. "Yuki. Ultear. It's time,"

Yuki immediately stood. Ultear looked at them, and frowned. "Asakura? From Mermaid Heel? And . . didn't I see you in the stands, cheering for Phoenix's Eye? Who are you people?"

Ariel was still blinking back tears, so Asakura took the lead. "Would you believe me if I told you that we're aliens?" she brightly asked.

". . . what?"

"I didn't think so. That was a lie anyway, so don't think about it too much," Asakura assured her, taking Ultear and Ariel's hands. Yuki took Ultear's other hand, and the cousins completed the chain. "You seen upset," Yuki dispassionately observed. "It's not logical to use strenuous magic while emotionally unbalanced,"

"Oh, so you're Spock now?" Ariel scathingly retorted. "I'm fine. Just cast the spell. It uses life force, right? Draw on ours, instead of your own," the bluenette commanded the time witch, who blinked. "But, if I do that, then . ."

"With every second that passes, it'll take more to cast the Spell and do it right," Asakura pointed out. "So stop wasting time,"

"R-right . ." Ultear nodded, closing her eyes and building her magic. "Arc of Time . . Last Ages!"

Her screams split the sky as it brightened, the long-gone sun suddenly appearing on the horizon again. Damaged buildings were restored. Lost lives were revived.

And, suddenly, the Princess and her group of conspirators, as well as several platoons of Rune Knights, were standing in front of the Eclipse Gate. "In preparation for the dragons' assault on Fiore, we will now begin the Eclipse Cannon's . . firing . ." Hisui's eyes widened. "Wait - stop! Don't begin it! Ceasefire!" she commanded as the Gate's unlocking sequence began.

The locks stopped, and closed themselves again.

"What the hell? Just a minute ago I was talking to my uncle," Natsu looked around in confusion.

"We're back here?" Kynigós frowned. "Da gate?" Zena echoed his confusion. Kynigós felt the familiar weight of his hunter's pack around his shoulders. Ryos had destroyed it, but it looked . . well, as battered and stained as it had before, but very much intact.

Suddenly, words of Telepathy Magic echoed through the heads of everyone in the city of Crocus. "You are not hallucinating. We, the wizards of Crime Sorciere, have used a Lost Magic known as the Arc of Time to give you all a second chance. Do not believe that the events of the last few hours were merely a hallucination or dream, they were real. Know that your salvation comes through the sacrifice of Ultear Milkovitch, and remember her as the true winner of the Grand Magic Games,"

Jellal frowned. "Who is that?"

"It's not Ultear's voice," Merudy agreed.

"Someone's trying to give us credit for something we didn't do. But why?" Jellal surmised.

"You all heard that too, right?" Present Lucy quickly checked with the others present at the Eclipse Gate. Everyone nodded. "Ultear . . the one who unlocked our Second Origins?" Wendy recalled. "Wasn't she with Grimoire Heart?" Mirajane asked.

Suddenly, Hisui collapsed, making noises as though she were choking. "I can't believe it . ." she spluttered.

Kynigós and Arcadios both hastened towards her. "Princess?" the knight questioned, but the hunter was faster. "Hisui, are you alright?"

"I just can't believe it. All of that . ." No one was sure whether she was laughing or crying. "We almost destroyed the world, didn't we?"

"Don't blame yourself. This crap was all Ryos' fault - oh, shit, Ryos!" Kynigós gasped. Hisui paused, looking up at him. "If everything's been undone, then so was my killing him! He's still out there somewhere!"

"You mean the bastard who caused all this is still somewhere in the city?" Dalton demanded, before turning to the soldiers. "Men! Find this man!"

As patrols were organised, Kynigós helped Hisui to her feet. "You killed him?" she asked, blinking away her tears.

"Yeah, but apparently it was a big waste of time," Kynigós growled. "He's still out there, somewhere. And . . I don't think we've seen the last of him,"

Back on the road where the three TFEI had assisted Ultear, the time witch was looking down at herself. "I feel . . aged," she groaned, rubbing a suddenly-sore back. "Maybe ten years or so . . I don't know why you three girls sacrificed -" Ultear gasped.

Ariel, Yuki and Asakura were all unchanged. They didn't look a day older.

"How . . ?"

"How much older do you think that Spell made us?" Asakura asked.

"I estimate four to five hundred years," Yuki perfunctorily responded.

"Four . . but how?" Ultear gasped.

"Classified information," Ariel still looked unbalanced. "Come on, Asakura. We've got a party to go to,"

"You shouldn't reference _Star Trek_ here. It doesn't exist in this universe," Asakura admonished her as the two left.

"Bite me," Ariel rolled her eyes. She just had to get through the party without anything else going wrong, then history would be back on track and she could finally relax.

-[CoT]-

To celebrate their victory, the King threw a party.

Every wizard who had taken up arms against the dragons was invited, and colourful faces and hairstyles filled the halls. But as Pierce Kynigós entered the hall, having left Zena up in their chambers to sleep off the day's excitement, he had eyes for only a scant few wizards.

"May I have this dance?" Pierce Blastreyne politely suggested to Tyria, who blushed and nodded. But before he could take her hand, Kynigós stormed between them, grabbed their shoulders, and led them over to where Grace was talking to Wendy and Chelia. "You two, shoo," he commanded the Sky Slayers, before spinning the three Phoenixes together and curtly demanding, "What do you three know about Faraday?"

All three were stunned. "Faraday?" Tyria parroted.

"You mean our guild's S-Class wizard, right? Basically nothing," Pierce admitted. "Honestly, I've only even seen her three or four times, and she's spoken to me exactly once,"

"She's never talked to me at all," Grace added. "But she did save us from a dragon earlier,"

Kynigós grimaced. "Damnit . . she engaged a dragon . . and it wasn't chasing her when I saw her . . I guess she wasn't full of shit after all," he sighed.

"Why?" Pierce asked.

"You remember how we met Equivaton on the Sempiternal Phoenix? Turns out she's the one who sent him there," Kynigós explained.

It took a moment for this to sink in. "Wait, from now?" Tyria gasped.

"I mean, if we're talking time travel, but . . wow," Pierce nodded.

"Yeah. She got us talking, lowered our guards, and then zap. I didn't even say goodbye," Kynigós growled, clenching his fists. His metal fingers ground against each other. "More than that, though. I saw her without that mask of hers on. And she looked a hell of a lot like you," the hunter gestured at Grace.

"Eh?"

"How much do you know about your family?" Kynigós pressed.

Grace blinked. "Um . . I kind of have amnesia . . I don't remember them,"

"Erik would, though," Pierce pointed out. "Oh yeah!" the younger Dragon Slayer agreed. "We'll ask him next time we see him,"

Kynigós nodded, looking dissatisfied. "Guess I should have known it wouldn't be that easy,"

"Actually, Master might know," Tyria pointed out. "Faraday's been in the guild since, I think X777?"

"Then let's go ask her," Kynigós dragged the group through the crowd towards Master Feng, who was hobnobbing with the other Guild Masters. "Hey. Master,"

Feng span and looked inquisitively at Kynigós. "Yes?" She frowned, taking a second, but recalled. "Edo-Pierce, yes?"

"From Edolas?" Makarov raised an eyebrow, but Feng ignored him.

"Don't call me that. And tell me everything you know about Faraday," Kynigós commanded.

Feng cast him a scrutinising look, quietly probing his reasons with her telepathy magic. She stiffened, discovering a wealth of memories she hadn't expected to see from the apocalyptic future that had been averted. Oh dear, this boy had been through a lot. But she had to stay focused . . "Faraday is a cage," she simply responded.

"A cage? What the hell does that mean?" the boy frowned.

"That's all I can tell you," she shrugged.

"Bullshit," Kynigós growled, raising his metal fist, but Feng caught it easily. "I said, Faraday is a cage, and that's all I can tell you," she reiterated, turning and striding away.

Kynigós growled and turned to the Phoenixes. "Do you three have any idea what she means by 'a cage'?"

As the three of them shrugged and admitted no understanding, Kynigós rolled his eyes and stomped off. It didn't matter . . well, maybe it really didn't. Equivaton had wanted him to live life to the fullest. Chasing after Faraday's ghost wouldn't help. It would just be more revenge. And he was getting sick of revenge. So he relaxed, pulling up a chair and listening into the conversations around him.

". . familiar with the Meito?" Sarph's voice asked. Tashigi responded, "Yes. I've made it my mission in life to track down as many of these legendary swords as I can and ensure they're being used respectfully. I'm glad that capable hands like yours are wielding «Tensh . ."

"Yuki! Good to see you. I thought parties weren't your scene?" Tyria questioned, to no verbal response.

". . this one of those parties with a karaoke machine? I'll rock it!" Lync declared. "You might be out of luck there . ." Alice replied.

". . no. You know you shouldn't have too many sweets, Asuka, or it'll keep you up all night," Kynigós stiffened, and stood. He knew that voice. Standing, he scoured the crowd until he saw green hair, of a shade he hadn't seen since Ghoulia. Before he even knew it, he was standing behind Bisca Connell, a woman he remembered as a gibbering, deluded wreck, but now seemed perfectly sane, fawning over . . a young girl with dark hair.

The man felt his heart tie itself in a knot. "Asuka?" he almost whispered, blinking back tears. "You're Asuka?"

Bisca shot him a suspicious look, but Kynigós ignored her.

"Yep!" the five-year-old smiled at the unknown man, before noticing the pained expression on his face. And still, there was something familiar about him, like déjà vu . . "Do I know you?"

At the question, a slight smile crossed Kynigós lips. "No, you don't. And now you never will," he nodded, more to himself than anything. With that, he turned and strode towards the future.

The future, incidentally, came in the form of a one-eyed man with dark red hair. "Oi. You said that you'd explain everything once it was all over. I'm waiting," Erik demanded.

"Fair enough," Kynigós nodded, and launched into a brief recap of everything that had happened to him since leaving Edolas.

Meanwhile, Sting was trying to persuade Yukino to rejoin Sabretooth. "I'd love it if you were a part of the guild again," he finished.

Before Yukino could respond, Kagura interrupted. "Are you kidding me? Don't be such an idiot!"

"Kagura?"

"We're the all girl group. I hereby declare you have to join Mermaid Heel!"

"What?" Sabretooth gasped. "You're completely wasted!" Sting protested.

"It doesn't matter!" Kagura retorted.

"Stop right there!" Erza interrupted. "We won't stand by while you decide her fate!"

"I never thought about joining Fairy Tail," Yukino admitted as the other Fairies chimed in.

"And you shouldn't!" Master Feng interrupted.

"Yeah! Our guild is the best guild, you shouldn't even think about joining any other!" Blanca shouted, looking slightly drunk herself. "Wait, Blanca's sixteen, who let her have alcohol?" Sarph raised a concerned eyebrow.

"I dunno, she's kinda too similar to me and I don't want people confusing us," Eve mumbled.

"No way. A woman that's as beautiful as you are," "Deserves nothing less than the most beautiful guild," "So join us," the Trimens chorused.

"Who the hell are you calling the most beautiful? We're most beautiful!" Blanca shouted. Things only escalated from there.

The fight, however, was interrupted, by a fanfare. "All rise for the King of Fiore!" Everyone paused, looking up at the high balcony - and were stunned to see Natsu Dragneel in fancy robes and an ornate crown, with Mato and Dalton at his heels, bearing horrified expressions.

"For the rest of today, I am the king! Do what I say!" Natsu shouted with a manic grin. "Please give it back!" Mato whined, trying to grab the crown on Natsu's head.

Suddenly, a khaki blur jumped up and clocked Natsu in the side of the head. As the boy staggered, a calloused hand grabbed the crown and offered it back to the King. "Here you go," Kynigós nodded respectfully. "Thank you!" Mato nodded gratefully.

"Hey! Lay off, Nigel!" Natsu complained. "How do you even get 'Nigel' from 'Kynigós'?!" the boy retorted.

Lost in thought and keeping her eyes open for Faraday on the off chance she would appear for the party, Ariel wandered through the main hall - and was promptly waylaid by a pirate.

"Can we talk? Just for a minute?" Kenzie Black sweetly questioned, grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards the centre of the hall.

"I, uh . . wha?" Ariel questioned as the pirates led her out onto the dance floor.

"Let's dance," the S-Class Phoenix declared, leading the witch in a twirl. "So, while me and all the people who time travelled were on my ship, sailing back to Fiore, I heard a lot about the guild and its members as they were six years ago. I even heard about this one girl, Ariel Nagato. But, if I remember correctly, they told me that you joined the guild just a couple of years ago,"

Ariel's eyes widened imperceptibly as she suddenly realised where this was going. Kenzie dropped her into a dip, and suddenly a knife-like shadow appeared over her throat. "If you joined the guild while they were gone, they couldn't have possibly known about you. So I'm led to conclude that I _don't_ remember correctly, _do I_?" she hissed.

Ariel gulped.

"I'm guessing they all knew you before the time travel and for some reason you made them forget. I don't know what your game is, or why you made everyone forget about you, but people messing with my guild leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So I suggest you tell me what you're playing at right now," Kenzie hissed. They were in the middle of the dance floor. Kenzie had picked her spot well, Ariel couldn't do anything without making a scene.

But Ariel couldn't tell the truth. If she did, she'd be jeopardising her mission. She'd be betraying the System. She'd be letting down Cardinal. _She couldn't betray Cardinal!_

It was like a spasm, an instinctive reaction. A spray of blue light erupted from her body, splattering across Kenzie's face like water. The knife vanished, and she stumbled back, dropping Ariel, who fell to the ground in a clumsy heap.

Everything ground to a halt. Every eye was suddenly watching the two of them.

There was a single sound, fingers snapping. And suddenly everyone except Ariel and Kenzie were doing what they had been doing just a second ago, as though it had never happened.

A familiar girl approached them with a vacant expression in her eyes. "Yuki?" Ariel recognised her cousin as she picked herself up.

"You should be more careful," Yuki admonished her. She patted Kenzie on the shoulder, and the pirate suddenly rubbed her eyes, looking dazed. "What was I doing?" she questioned, blinking blearily.

"Thanks," Ariel mumbled, but Yuki had vanished.

"Oh, that's right!" Kenzie suddenly fixed on Ariel and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards her. "You're a water witch, right? Come with me. Us pirates are gonna sneak out onto open ocean while the Marines are distracted with the celebrations. Your water magic will make it fast, come on!"

"Uh . . okay," Ariel nodded, still rattled, and let Kenzie take her from the party.

A short while later, Princess Hisui confronted her father, who was no longer wearing the pumpkin mask. "Hisui . ." the King frowned.

"I beg your forgiveness. My actions brought shame to the kingdom," Hisui admitted, bowing her head. "Once the festivities are over, I will accept whatever punishment you see fit,"

"But, princess," Lucy whispered.

"Well, at least you're not such a disgrace that you can't admit when you're wrong," Everyone paused as Lady Akari Demuri stalked over to them. "Frankly, you deserve every iota of punishment possible for this mess! If I might make a suggestion, dear, she ought to be stripped of her royal title and turned over to the Magic Council for a proper term of incarceration!" she addressed the king.

Toma blinked, but before he could speak, he was interrupted again. "Now hold on for just a goddamn second!" Kynigós suddenly exploded, coming up behind Hisui with a murderous look in his eyes. "This mess was Ryos' fault! Hisui was tricked, we all were! If anyone deserves punishment, it's him!"

"I was not aware that a lowly beggar like you was so close to the Princess as to refer to her by name," Demuri acidly observed, her tone making Kynigós recoil slightly. "But shouldn't -"

"Enough," Toma declared, silencing them both.

"With all due respect, I must intercede on the Princess' behalf. Kynigós is correct, the time traveller made other accurate predictions and led her to believe that the supposed Eclipse Two was the only way to defeat the dragons," Arcadios interrupted.

"That's true. She was acting with good intentions," Dalton agreed, heedless of the scandalised and betrayed look that Demuri shot him for disagreeing with her.

Noticing that some of the guild wizards around them were preparing to get involved, Toma E. Fiore declared again, "Enough!"

The Hall fell silent.

"I'm slightly offended by you all. Do you really believe that I pay so little attention to what goes on in my kingdom that I was wholly unaware of this entire situation?" the King questioned. "I was caught up in the excitement of the Games, and did not keep a sufficiently close eye on these proceedings. Indeed, there have been people living under my roof whom I have never so much as met before now," he gestured to Kynigós, who looked slightly bashful. "Nonetheless, by my inaction I allowed these events to transpire. By that metric I am just as culpable as the rest of you for all of this,"

"But -" Demuri started, but was cut off by Toma's warning glare. "And perhaps, Lady Demuri, you ought to give some thought as to why you yourself heard nothing of these matters before it was too late, and reconsider some of your priorities," At this, the noblewoman's jaw tightened, but she said nothing. Clearly the King wasn't as dense as she'd thought . . she'd have to be more subtle in her efforts to seduce him going forward.

"Arcadios' loyalty to Hisui, and Dalton's loyalty to the Kingdom. These both please me greatly. I am also pleased that my daughter has found a trustworthy associate to ally herself with," The King nodded to each of them in turn. "But what pleases me most of all, are the brave wizards assembled here that work tirelessly for peace,"

"Father . ." Hisui started.

"In light of all this, I've conceived a suitable punishment," The King snapped his fingers, and an attendant strode forwards, bearing a massive pumpkin. Everyone watched as the vegetable was placed over Hisui's head, her face visible through the mouth.

"You must wear the pumpkin head for an entire week!" Toma declared, his voice turning high again.

Kynigós blinked. ". . . and here I thought I'd seen everything,"

"A dose of humility. After this week, the slate will be wiped clean! My sweety-sweet," the King gushed.

"But . . but . ." Demuri looked like her brain had blown a fuse.

"That's wonderful! Aren't you happy?" Lucy beamed.

"Ah . . yes. Pumpkin!" Hisui chuckled, and everyone laughed at this.

"And . . Kynigós? Pumpkin?" the greenette turned first to the hunter who'd helped her so much through the entire situation. "I just want to say that I'm grateful for everything that you've done for us, and . . whatever you decide to do in the future, I'll support you in the best way I can, pumpkin,"

Kynigós looked at her, trying to get over the fact that her face was inside a massive pumpkin, and smiled. "What I want more than anything is to protect Zena," he admitted. "And, so far, this castle is the safest place she's ever been. So I think we might just take you up on your offer from a couple of days ago, princess. If it's still valid?"

Hisui smiled. "I'd love to have you stay with us, pumpkin,"

Kynigós thought for a second about the way his life had been for the last couple of years. Living by his wits in Edolas' Phoenix's Eye, watching them all die and joining Fairy Tail, being transported to Earth Land and thrown into the future via Sempiternal Phoenix, and then fighting his way through an apocalypse. And living the easy life for a change sure did sound good. "Then I'm in. Pumpkin,"

"I have extras, if you want?" the King offered.

"Pumpkin party!"

A/N

 **A/N - READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE. SERIOUSLY, IT'S IMPORTANT.**

 **Wow, this chapter ended up long. I considered breaking it in half, but decided against it.**

 **And with that, we round out the Grand Magic Games! The longest arc of the Phoenix's Eye storyline to date, spanning Chapters 97-117. Not including the two Opening and Closing themes, that's seventeen chapters, beating out the previous record holder, S-Class Trials, by four chapters! And these have been long chapters, too. I tend to average three to five thousand words per chapter, but these have regularly been around the six or seven thousand mark.**

 **And, unfortunately, it is because of that that I'm going to have to put this story on hiatus for a bit. Don't get the wrong idea, though! I'm not going to stop writing. But over the last ninety chapters of Phoenix's Eye, almost two years, I've come to enjoy updating weekly on Sundays. Or Saturdays, depending on your time zone. I've also enjoyed maintaining a backlog of up to twenty chapters, as it gives me time to proofread and edit, and I've been able to maintain this backlog consistently . . until this arc. As the chapters got longer, my backlog shrunk. I actually only finished Chapter 117 the week after posting Chapter 114. Ideally, I'd be on Chapter 134 by that point, and 137 right now.**

 **So while this story's updates will stop for a couple of months, I'm not going to stop writing. I'm going to rebuild my backlog at a leisurely pace, without the demands of a deadline, and attend to real-world commitments on my time and energy, too. And when I feel like I can reestablish the update schedule, Phoenix's Eye will be back in full force!**

 **And I'll remind everyone one last time; if anyone wants to write a chapter of filler, or fanfiction, or whatever you want to call it, using the characters or settings of Phoenix's Eye, and have it be considered canon, PM me! I'm open to all offers. Peace!**


	48. Welcome To The New Phoenix's Eye

Chapter 118: Welcome To The New Phoenix's Eye!

 **So, the hiatus is over! Woo-hoo!**

 **And, because I know it's been a while and you've probably all forgotten lots of the stuff that happened in this story, here's an obligatory anime recap! Don't feel like you should just skip this chapter, though, even if you do remember absolutely everything that's happened in the last hundred and seventeen chapters. There's some new information and context interspersed among the flashbacks, as well as a decent bit of character development.**

 **A/N**

A/N

After the Grand Magic Games, things had been quiet. Master Feng had received the prize money for coming in second place - "Twenty million jewels! We're rich!" - and promptly declared to everyone that she was going to finally renovate the Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall.

"I've had enough of Fairy Tail showing us up with that damn castle they call a guild hall. We're moving on to bigger and better things!"

"But Master, this has been the Hall for more than sixty years," Phoenix's Eye veteran and Paper Wizard Russell had pointed out. "Isn't there sentimental value -"

"This building is literally a retrofitted barn," Feng had shot him down. "We deserve better!"

And, after a couple of weeks, everyone had been told to meet on the site of the Phoenix's Eye guild hall at 9 AM. The guild was officially open for business once again.

"Holy moly," Pierce gasped, taking in the massive building that now stood in place of the old barn that Phoenix's Eye had once called their guild hall.

"Sweet lightning," Tyria agreed, equally stunned.

The core of the old building had been preserved, in a large, central, red building with the curved roof of the old barn crowning it. But in place of the brown wood supports, white pillars of marble were shot through the red brick, flanking the same massive brown doors as the old building. Above them, just below the top of the building, a massive window made of orange glass in the shape of an eye stared down at them. The window was crowned by two white feathers, made of metal and completing the massive symbol of Phoenix's Eye atop the building.

But, unlike before, the new guild hall had wings. Not literal wings, but additional structures built on to the sides and expanding the guild hall. Made of red brick and pockmarked with windows, they were two storeys tall, and ended in large, three-storey boxes with terraced roofs. Flagpoles reached above each of them, flying white flags with red Phoenix's Eye crests on them.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Everyone looked to the large door, where Master Feng was standing. "Come in, brats!"

Phoenix's Eye burst in, the guild's wizards streaming in and spreading across the enlarged guild hall.

Sarah gasped with joy, seeing the massive, curved bar occupying the near left corner, filled with cupboards and racks and bearing a stove and fridge. "Master! You're so thoughtful!"

"At least the old hag has good taste in furniture," Lync grinned, christening the closest of the brand new green leather sofas with his rear end. Alice stetted in beside him, eyeing the unlit fireplace that three of the sofas were arranged around.

Tyria discovered a door on the left wall and opened it, finding a corridor. "The old guild hall never had corridors," she chuckled.

Meanwhile, Sarph and Artorias ascended the stairs. "The S-Class floor is better than ever," Sarph rumbled, finding a pair of gold-coloured couches facing the familiar blue S-Class job board. On a whim, the knight span the job board around, finding the SS-Class jobs present on the far side of the board, with the partitioned green section of Decade Quests and the couple of currently-empty red square feet given over to Century Quests below it.

Sarph's gaze lingered on one of the Decade Quest job sheets for a second, reading the simple words printed across it; SAIL THROUGH THE GRAND LINE AND FIND THE ONE PIECE. For a second, his thoughts turned to Kenzie Black, or Captain Black "The Succubus" Kenzie as she was known on the high seas. She had been present to aid the guild during the Grand Magic Games, but she and her crew had crept back to the ocean during the celebrations and hadn't been heard from in the weeks since. Not that that was unexpected, the Black Eye Pirates had been known to go for years without checking in with the remainder of the guild.

"Hey. The door's gone," Artorias noticed, staring at the corner, and Sarph turned to him. In the previous guild hall, there had been a door in the corner leading into Master Feng's private quarters. But the wall was empty. "Huh. I wonder where she's sleeping?"

"I commandeered the tower in the right wing. It's only three rooms, not four like my old quarters, but it'll do," the Guild Master declared, popping up behind them and gesturing to a door opposite the one Tyria was investigating.

"Alright then," Artorias nodded, unfazed.

"Hey, Tyria, Grace! Boomer, Sarph, Hare?" The members of Team Pierce looked over at their leader's call, finding him standing atop the second table from the front of the guild hall. "I hereby christen this the new table of Team Pierce!"

"I never agreed to that name!" Hare retorted.

The door swung open, and a few stragglers emerged. Sensho strode into the guild, followed by Fleur. The mute witch beamed, seeing Totomaru ready to christen the new bar with a fresh pina colada, and joined him, ignoring the glare that Hare sent her.

The Sylph suddenly paused, watching Totomaru's back. He wasn't looking at her. He never looked at her. ". . Team meeting! Now!" She barked, snatching up Pierce and Tyria and dragging them to the table that Pierce had just claimed.

"Team meeting? But what about Grace, Boomer and Sarph?" Tyria parroted, confused.

"They can't help me," Hare brushed the criticism off, before pausing and eyeing the casual lovers. "Um . ." Pierce blinked, scrutinising the recalcitrant princess. Her veil of contempt had dropped, and she looked uncharacteristically vulnerable. Furthermore, she had seated herself with her back to Totomaru. "You two are the only ones with experience in, well, love," she explained.

"What? Lync and Alice have been dating for years," Tyria retorted.

"I mean, possibly unrequited love. Because . ." Hare lowered her voice. "I can no longer ignore the fact that Toromaru's never shown any interest in me," she admitted, suddenly looking uncharacteristically vulnerable.

Pierce raised an eyebrow. Was Hare finally moving on from her hopeless crush on their guild mate?

"He and Fleur joined straight after the Phantom Lord incident, and . ." Hare paused, thinking back to when she had first met Totomaru.

 _"And what are you squirts all doing, milling around . . ." Hare trailed off as she caught sight of Totomaru._

 _'That sultry, holier-than-thou glare, the haughty way he keeps his arms folded, the slight twitch of his eyebrow beneath that rugged, mismatched hair,' she thought, drinking in every second of looking at him. 'Who is this man? Why have I never seen him before? What is he doing with these brats? And IS HE SINGLE?'_

"But he never even looked at me, and he never has, and . . I think maybe he never will," Hare admitted.

Tyria nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I know how you feel. Back when I was interested in Pierce, I thought he'd never feel the same way," she admitted.

Hare raised an eyebrow. "When did you start developing feelings for Tyria?" She suddenly asked Pierce. Tyria also shot her boyfriend a curious glance.

"I thought she was attractive from the moment I first saw her," Pierce admitted, thinking back. Prior to joining Phoenix's Eye, Tyria had been a bandit, stealing from travellers to get by. She wasn't proud of the time she'd spent as the Shellshocker. However . .

 _Shellshocker spent another moment struggling, before giving up. "Fine," she sighed, and her mask vanished, revealing a tawny brown face with blue eyes._

 _The Tamer blinked in surprise. "Huh. You're -"_

 _"An immigrant. I know," Shellshocker sighed, looking down. Pierce had been going to finish the sentence with 'very pretty,' but decided not to interrupt. She spotted the guild mark tattooed on his hand. "You're a guild wizard. What's that like for you?" she asked._

 _"It's awesome," he replied, stepping down._

Pierce was just glad that Tyria had agreed to join up. He didn't know where they'd be without her. "But I guess, really, it was after what happened with the Divine Caladrius that I seriously started to consider a relationship with her,"

"You mean when I kissed you the first time?" Tyria smiled.

" _I, uh . . didn't thank you for saving my life back there," Tyria pointed out, suddenly unable to meet his eyes._

 _"Oh, that?" Pierce nodded. "It was nothing. Any time," He smiled, and his eyebrow twitched in confusion and mild concern as he noticed the flush that was creeping up Tyria's cheeks._

 _"You broke your vow against using guns . . for me. That's not nothing, that's . ." Again, the Electrian stumbled over her words, before finally bursting out; "No one's ever done something like that for me before. So . . I want to thank you. Properly,"_

 _"Oh, ok -" Pierce was suddenly cut off as Tyria stepped forwards and reached up, wrapping her dark-skinned arms around the Tamer's neck and pulling him down to her. Blue shirt met silver vest as she kissed him, pressing her lips into his and revelling in the sensation of the closeness that she'd never experienced before._

 _Pierce was caught off guard, but didn't complain, wrapping his right arm around her shoulders and resting his left hand on her neck, he returned the kiss, leaning down to his shorter teammate. Her lips tasted like metal, but he didn't mind, revelling in the coppery scent of her breath._

 _After a moment that stretched into infinity, they broke apart, and hazel eyes met blue as both Pierce and Tyria processed what had just happened, the blond bearing a soppy smile while the bluenette had a small smile and still-flushed cheeks._

"Hold on, saving your life?" Hare questioned.

"Oh, that's right. You weren't there when we fought Severed Tusk," Tyria recalled.

"Short version, my dark wizard of a father decided he wanted to enslave the qilins, as well as the Divine Caladrius," Pierce explained, recalling some of the final words the man had said to him.

 _"Do you know what you've done?" Jarod Blastreyne demanded._

 _Pierce was about to respond, but his father wouldn't let him. "You've ruined me! You've ruined my life's work! I spent decades building Severed Tusk from the ground up, and in the span of a night and a day it gets brought crashing down around my ears!" he barked, gritting his teeth. "I was on the cusp of greatness! With the power of the Divine Caladrius, the power to heal any wound or affliction instantly, I would have been unstoppable! Hades of Grimoire Heart, Eternity of Kairos End and even Mard Geer of Tartaros, none of them would have been able to stand up to a wizard who could immediately rid himself of any injury or curse they could inflict! Severed Tusk's position in the Balam Alliance would have been assured, and my name would be heralded as that of the greatest hunter who ever lived!"_

 _" 'The greatest hunter who ever lived', huh?" Pierce parroted with a bitter grin, tapping his flute as he did to signal Inky. "Yeah, that sounds right. All you ever cared about was killing, so it stands to reason you'd want to be able to say no one does it better than you,"_

"Hey. You met Cor, right?" Tyria recalled.

 _"She took one look at that qilin - it is an honour to be in your presence - and bolted. It was almost as though she was scared," Sarph mused thoughtfully._

"What's with you and qilins? We never got the story there," the Electrian realised.

Hare tched. "I guess you two deserve to know. I assume you haven't forgotten that I was born a princess?"

 _Lady Sakuya, ruler of the Sylph nation in Alfheim. sighed. "Why do you act this way towards me, Hare? When did we grow apart?"_

 _"I'd say it was when you tried to marry me off to that backstabbing pig," her daughter scoffed, referring to Sigurd._

 _"That was for the good of the nation," the Lady frowned, adopting a long-suffering expression._

 _"I was sixteen and you were throwing me at the altar!" Hare protested._

 _"I had to do that! Everyone liked Sigurd, he would have made a great king," Sakuya left unsaid that Hare would be a terrible queen, even though it was a sentiment they both shared._

 _"He was working with Laughing Coffin!" Hare retorted._

 _Sakuya paused, briefly taken aback by this revelation, but shook her head. "He was still my best option at the time. It would have been what was best for the country," she finished._

 _"And that's all you've ever done!" Hare snapped. "You've always done what's 'best for the country'! But you've never done what's best for me!" she spat._

"Yeah, and you have just as many issues with your mum as I do with my dad. We remember," Pierce assured her. He blinked, suddenly remembering what his qilin friend Cor had once told him about his species.

 _Pierce blinked, before inching over to Cor. "Why does she think that I'm a prince?" he whispered to his friend, looking at Aunt Diane._

 _Cor chuckled nervously, and whispered; "Well . . traditionally, qilins are only supposed to leave home . . in order to serve as advisors to the most just and righteous kings in the world," he admitted._

"A qilin showed up at your royal court to advise Lady Sakuya," he guessed.

"Yes. For all of a few hours. Then the damn thing took one look at me and decided my 'heart', or whatever, was so ugly that he couldn't stand to be anywhere near me," Hare abruptly explained. "Of course, mum blamed me. She assumed I'd said something rude and provocative or something and got him so mad he decided to leave," Tyria remained silent, but reflected that such a statement would hardly be out of character for Hare, "and she punished me for it. Worse than that, though, everyone heard that it was my fault that the oh so great qilin didn't want anything to do with our city. It made me pretty unpopular," Hare snorted, her contemptuous sneer reasserting itself. "And I guess I've never really forgiven that one qilin for putting me through all that,"

"Ah," Pierce digested this. "That sucks. I'm sorry that happened," Tyria agreed, sympathetic.

"Yeah, well I left for a reason," Hare shook her head. "But, getting back to Totomaru,"

"Well, have you had any moments with him?" Pierce asked. "Any indication that he's attracted to you?"

"Not really . . and I've tried!" Hare groaned. "I helped him in the S-Class Trials!"

 _Suddenly, Blanca's battered plastic car exploded, scattering pieces of fabricated material everywhere, revealing Eve lying on her chest and heaving gasps of air into her lungs, and Blanca standing upright triumphantly, a key clutched in her hand. "Oh yeah! I'm the best at making dynamic entrances, the best at driving, and, most importantly, the best at finding keys!"_

 _"NOOOOOOO!" Hare shrieked. "Forgive me, Totomaru! I've failed you!"_

 _"Blanca beat Totomaru," Pierce said out loud. The words sounded unfamiliar in his mouth._

 _"Blanca beat Totomaru with Hare helping him," Tyria nodded, amazed._

"That was more like hindering Blanca," Tyria pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't think Totomaru really registered that you were helping him and not just being sadistic," Pierce nodded.

"You . . might be right. Plus . . me and him don't have . . that," Hare wordlessly gestured at Pierce and Tyria.

The couple exchanged a curious glance. "What?"

"You agree. You think similarly. You understand each other. But . . what do I even know about Totomaru other than that he used to be with Phantom Lord and he's sexy?" Hare complained.

"Hey!" The conversation was interrupted by an unfamiliar tweenage boy, who entered the guild hall and beelined straight for Totomaru. The three Phoenixes watched as Totomaru grinned and stood. "Apparently, that he has a son," Pierce observed.

Hare looked like a ghost.

"Where've you been, teach?" Romeo Conbolt questioned. Totomaru bobbed his head. "Master encouraged us all to stay out of town for a bit while she remodelled the guild hall. Welcome to the grand opening,"

"Wait, that's Romeo, from Fairy Tail. I heard Totomaru was tutoring him in magic. Never met the kid, though," Pierce suddenly recalled.

Hare suddenly slumped. "I didn't even know that," Her head lolled back. "It's like, I've spent so long watching him that I never really got to know him," she shook her head in dismay.

"Yeah, well . ." Tyria didn't know what to say. "I guess . . you're right. You should move on," she finally agreed.

"Yeah, well . . not like I could ever compete with the connection he has with Fleur, anyway," Hare shrugged, watching Fleur communicate with Totomaru and Romeo through sign language.

"I dunno. He's ten years older than her now. Sure, it's not an insurmountable barrier, but Totomaru's honour might not let him be with a younger woman," Pierce countered,

"Then it's hopeless. I'm eight years younger than him, too . . damnit. Why is this so hard?" Hare moaned.

"It's love," Tyria swung around the table and sat back down next to Hare, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "If it were easy, we wouldn't think about it so much,"

Hare stifled a chuckle. "Yeah. You've got me there," she admitted. "Say, where did your grandfather the god go?"

The Electrian's smile dimmed. "He can't stay around us anymore. Gods like Hephaestus aren't allowed to meddle with mortals too much. Remember when he stopped the fight against Minerva?"

 _Minerva just smiled as her attack prepared to detonate, heedless of the destruction it would cause. She didn't care. As long as she won. And with this final blow, there was no doubt that -_

 _"NO." Suddenly, the light stopped, and Yagdo Rigora crumbled to dust before their eyes. Hephaestus was standing on the guard rail, his blond beard and hair crackling with energy. His hands were raised and he had obviously just cancelled Minerva's spell. "This goes_ no further _," he growled, his voice resonating throughout the arena._

"Gods aren't supposed to pull crap like that. If he'd stayed any longer, all the other gods would have come over to execute him. And Crocus and everyone in it would get caught in the blast radius," Tyria shook her head. "Besides. I'm sure I'll see him again sooner or later,"

Hare nodded. "And what about your father? What ever happened with him?" she asked Pierce.

"You mean after he and his goons got arrested?"

 _"How do you think he's doing in there?" Raya quietly asked, eyeing Pierce down her beak. Everyone knew who she was talking about._

 _"You know what, old friend?" Pierce smiled up at his partner. "I really don't care. Come on, everyone," he grinned at his friends, turning and beginning to walk back to the Garuda. "Let's go home,"_

 _Meanwhile, Jarod irritably itched at a scratch on his wrist where he languished in his jail cell. One of those monsters had bitten him. Disgusting creatures. And no one had bothered to give him anything for the injury. Moonlight shone down on the remnants of Severed Tusk._

 _Suddenly, a retching sensation rose in his stomach, sending a tingling feeling throughout his entire body. "Ah . . ah . . AAAAARR-OOOOOOOOO!" the newly transformed werewolf howled before he could stop himself, before choking on his own voice. Wresting back control of his body from the emerging instincts, Jarod forced himself to sit up on reshaped, digitigrade legs and looked at what he had become. "No . . NO!" he shouted, refusing to accept this new reality. "This cannot be happening!"_

 _"I don't know, and I don't care," Pierce shook his head. "I'm done with him. I just don't ever want to have to think about him again,"_

"I can't blame you for feeling that way," Hare admitted. "Mmm. Maybe I should go see my mum . ." she wondered.

"Heh. Compared to the rest of us, you kinda lucked out in the parent department," Tyria sighed. "Grace and Boomer's parents are dead, Pierce's dad is in jail,"

"And I never knew my mother," Pierce added.

"And Sarph . . hey. We don't actually know anything about Sarph's family, right?" Tyria frowned. Pierce and Hare both shrugged. "What about your parents?" the Speed witch asked.

Tyria blinked. "Oh, right. I guess I never told you," she sighed. "Well, my mum died in an accident seven . . um. In X778. Thirteen years ago," she corrected herself, remembering to account for the time travel. "And my dad was on the front lines of the war between Electria and Alvarez. He was a powerful demigod, after all . ." She sighed. "I mean, they never found his body, but I'm not hopeful,"

Pierce moved around and squeezed in next to her, sandwiching Tyria between him and Hare, and embracing her.

"Besides. I don't regret anything," his girlfriend assured him, exhaling. With the subject on their minds, the three wizards remembered how first Tyria, then Lync and Alice, and then the sum total survivors of the Electrian Resistance had come to take refuge in Phoenix's Eye.

 _"Tyria did not, as you believe, escape Electria for her own safety. Rather, she was entrusted with a mission that is of the utmost importance to the survival of Electria. She was given a Compendium of Electrian culture itself; our most sacred texts and valuable artefacts, true and accurate records of our history, and our most dangerous weapons, the likes of which Alvarez can never be allowed to possess. She was instructed to take the Electrian Compendium and flee from our homeland, to find a place in some distant land where it could be hidden, that only she would know where it is. That way, even if Electria should fall to Alvarez, the spirit of our culture will live on, ready to be revived when our descendants have need of it once more," Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria gravely explained._

 _Several years later, after the timeskip; "If they think that Tyria's here, they'll stop at nothing to capture her. They might even set up a permanent detachment here, just in case she resurfaces," Atsphuria explained to his meagre handful of remaining students, referring to the Alvarez Empire._

 _"What?" Tyria gasped. "But - then . ."_

 _"We'd lose the College. For real this time," Alice nodded gravely._

 _"What will we do, Headmaster?" one of the other students asked._

 _Gabriel seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. He breathed in deeply, gaunt lines appearing in his face, and his eyes steeled. "We lost the College a long time ago. There's nothing we can do about that,"_

 _"Headmaster, what are ya saying?" Laurel asked, worried._

 _"It's time to leave," Headmaster Gabriel Atsphuria resolved._

"It's been a hell of a ride," Tyria reminisced.

"What, you think our adventures are over?" Pierce asked.

Tyria looked back at him. "Is it bad that I hope they aren't? Because, I know bad things happen and people get hurt, but I love it when we get the gang together and go . . kill a demon, or prevent a coup, or save a village from a guild of hunters. I love being a hero, I guess,"

"And I love being your hero," Pierce grinned, pulling her in for a kiss. As the two embraced, Hare pulled a face that they both ignored, before rolling her eyes and sliding out of the bench, mumbling, "I thought we were talking about my problems here,"

-[CoT]-

Across the guild hall, Grace sat down with Donna and Artorias. Eve was seated across the table, leaning on Donna's shoulder. "Hey, um, Donna?" she questioned, addressing the Celestial witch.

"What's up?" the older woman smiled at the greenette, who looked like something had been bothering her.

"I know you don't like talking about . . y'now, before, but . . how much do you remember of your old life?" Grace asked.

Donna blinked, and her smile drooped. "Um, which old life? The one when I was part of Kairos End, or the one when I knew Feng and Lycurgus as my old teammates?" A few years ago, Donna had been known as the dark witch Mordonna, the right hand woman and daughter of a man known as Eternity, the Guild Master of the dark guild Kairos End.

 _"Fifty-six years ago, the original incarnation of you, Donna Bastion, was killed," Master Feng confirmed. "But then . . how am I here? I don't feel dead," Donna frowned._

 _"Well, this is only a guess, but our old friend Lycurgus spent the last few decades dabbling in some very strange temporal magic. I think that he discovered a way to create an 'echo' of sorts of a dead person, and that is what he did to you,"_

 _"So, does that make me a clone, of sorts, of the original Donna?" the girl questioned, confused._

 _"I suppose that's one way to put it," Master Feng admitted. "Though, since Real Nightmare restored your memories, I can only assume that the state of quantum flux Eternity placed you in has been undone. Congratulations, old friend, you've come back from the dead,"_

"The second one," Grace clarified.

Donna shrugged. "Yeah. I know most of it still,"

There was a whine, and Grace looked down in surprise, finding Sif attentively eyeing her. She scratched the «Dire Wolf's» ears, but Artorias' pet refused to let her attention wander.

"Why do you ask?" Donna asked, and Grace looked back at her. "Well . . you know I don't remember anything from before Pierce brought me back to the guild, right?"

 _"The things they did to her, the entire reality of pain they put her through in that place . . that filthy, disgusting facility," Feng seethed. "I managed to cloud her memories of her experiences. She won't remember anything, but without that trauma weighing her down, she'll be able to live happily. Her name is Grace Hystia. Take care of her," the guild master commanded Pierce._

"It's because Master used magic to block my memories. I don't resent her for that or anything, but . ." Grace paused, thinking back to when she'd talked to Kynigós at the party celebrating the end of the Grand Magic Games.

 _Kynigós' fingers found the hood around Faraday's face, and as he retraced his fist, he ripped it off, exposing the face of the most powerful Phoenix._

 _Orange eyes filled with guilt stared back at him, framed by green hair. Kynigós inhaled sharply, stepping back. He knew that face. It belonged to that little girl who the other him called a sister. Grace. But . . Faraday was just so slightly different. She was older, sure, but her jaw lines, her cheek bones, they weren't the same, they were more angular. And her teeth, they were sharper, carnivorous. Not to mention the apparent age gap. She wasn't Grace, he could tell that much . . but she might be a relative._

 _"I saw her without that mask of hers on. And she looked a hell of a lot like you," the hunter gestured at Grace._

 _"Eh?"_

 _"How much do you know about your family?" Kynigós pressed._

 _Grace blinked. "Um . . I kind of have amnesia . . I don't remember them,"_

"If Faraday's related to me, then I might know things about her and just not be able to remember them," Grace explained. "So, for the sake of moving forward, and helping Kynigós, I'm wondering if I should ask Master to give me back my memories,"

There was a moment of silence as everyone present considered this.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Artorias lowly responded. Donna, Eve and Grace all looked at him in surprise.

"It's one thing to think that you're ready to deal with pain of that sort. And maybe you are," the redhead muttered. "But your smile is one of the most beautiful things that I've seen in this dark world, and with the knowledge of your past, you wouldn't be able to smile like that anymore. And that's not a price that you should be willing to pay for a little thing like knowledge,"

Again, the table lapsed into silence.

"That's my opinion, anyway," Artorias mumbled.

"Besides. You barely even know Kynigós. He's not Pierce, after all," Eve agreed. "You shouldn't feel obligated to help him. It's not like he asked you to,"

Grace and Artorias looked at the mousy girl in surprise, Eve usually wasn't one to speak up like that.

"Someone's feeling talkative," Donna observed with a hint of pride. Even in the short time she'd known Eve, she had picked up on her fellow Celestial Wizard's nature.

Eve picked up her wand and gripped it tightly. The three feathers attached to the end waved in a faint wind. "I've been trying to become stronger," she admitted, recalling the significance of those feathers, a gift from the demigoddess, the Divine Caladrius.

 _"Maybe you aren't strong now . . but that doesn't mean that you never can be," the Caladrius explained. "You have to keep trying, to keep pushing forward. If you can do that, then someday, you really will become truly strong,"_

 _"You think so?" she questioned, and the demigod nodded. "Of course,"_

 _"Thank you," Eve whispered._

 _"As a matter of fact, I think I have something for you," the Caladrius murmured, briefly burying her beak in the inner crevices of her wing joints. When she emerged, three of the small, soft, downy feathers from the base of her wing were clutched between her lips, and she gently dropped them at Eve's feet._

 _"Uh . . what are these?"_

 _"A present," the Divine Caladrius smiled down at her. "To be honest, I'm not sure what these will do for you, if anything. But I still want you to take them, to remind you that you can be strong,"_

One of the three feathers was crumpled and blackened, it had been used while they were in Swilvane, fighting off Laughing Coffin to save Hare.

 _Eve raised her arms, spread her wings partway so that it looked like she had a cape of feathers that hung to her knees, and began to chant a spell of her own. "As the world spins around the frozen poles, the stars shine down from the realm of the gods,"_

 _"She's casting! Shoot her!" Johnny hissed._

 _"May the great bird follow the celestial spheres, until it reaches the cold abyss beyond the end of the stars," Eve continued, a white magic circle appearing before her, and XaXa nodded, aiming, and firing._

 _There was a blast of noise as the «Accuracy International L115A3» discharged, but a flash of energy reduced the projectile to dust as the witch continued. "From this final cold I draw the power of gods, and invoke the eternal raging storm," Sweeping her arms outwards, a massive flurry of shining snow built around her arms and wings, and Eve finished; "Blizzard . . . Phoenix!"_

 _It was as though a natural disaster had been unleashed within the confines of the alleyway; biting winds, chunks of hail, a thick mist of snow that coated all it came into contact with. Johnny screamed as Hare was lifted out of his arms by Eve's empowered magic and pulled out of the blast radius, before he was thrown down the alleyway. XaXa and Prince's paralysed form soon followed him._

Eve had actually used them twice so far. During the Dragon King Festival just a couple of weeks ago, she had crushed the second of the feathers in her hand, gained her wings, and used them to fight the dragons. She'd even cast her strongest spell, Blizzard Phoenix. But when time was reversed to prevent the Dragons from ever having appeared in the city, the feather was restored, just like everything else. Eve could only consider it to have been a freebie.

"I have opinions that matter, and I'm not going to hold my tongue when I want to speak," Eve nodded, trying to convince herself.

"Good! Say whatever you want!" Donna encouraged her.

"Your staff is cooler than mine and I'm jealous!"

The table fell silent once again.

Eve blushed furiously, suddenly embarrassed.

"What, this old thing?" Donna picked up her «Phoenix Eye Rod» and eyed it. It was a golden staff with a design that looked like a phoenix head, with a thick blue jewel set into it as the eye. Her Celestial Keyring was hooked around the phoenix's beak. She had obtained it, as well as her magical white and blue robes and hat, in the royal armoury of Swilvane. She supposed it was more impressive than the «Wing Wave Rod» that Eve used to carry her Caladrius feathers. "Really?"

"It's made of gold," the brunette mumbled.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about all that glitters," Donna pointed out.

"Actually, I don't," Grace interrupted.

"Yeah, I guess," Eve shrugged, looking down.

The bluenette shrugged. "Here," she offered, passing her staff to Eve, who took it and stared at it. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"We were talking about my memories?" Grace pressed.

"They're your memories. Make up your own mind," Donna replied. "But I can't see that it would do much good. You didn't actually see Faraday yourself, right? So even if you have seen her before, you couldn't be sure, could you?"

"I suppose not," Grace admitted. "Just . ."

Everyone looked at her expectantly.

"What if she's my mother?"

-[CoT]-

"So, this is the infamous Zena?" King Toma E. Fiore beamed.

Zena stared at the tiniest human she'd ever seen, curious.

"Zena. This is the King. He's Hisui's daddy," Kynigós explained.

"But you're small," Zena observed. "Daddies are big,"

The King chuckled. "Well, I'm not a dragon," he pointed out.

"Oh,"

"She is less than a year old," Kynigós defensively pointed out.

"And she's a sweetheart," Lucy interjected from a nearby armchair. She was the Lucy Heartfilia from the future, the one who Kynigós and Zena had brought back with them when they time travelled to stop Ryos and save the world. After the Dragon King Festival, she had returned to Magnolia with Fairy Tail, but started a policy of regularly checking in on her friends in Crocus.

"I like her," Toma assured them. "Besides, she's quite possibly the only real dragon in the entire world. I'm not going to execute her or anything - conservation aside, I certainly wouldn't want to alienate you, not after how much you've done for us," he told Kynigós.

Kynigós frowned a little. "Thanks, I think. And if you want to get on her good side, rub her horns, right here," he gestured to the inside of Zena's two upward-pointing rear horns. Obligingly, the King reached up and rubbed the indicated spot, causing Zena to coo happily and nuzzle him, heedless of the fact that she was already more than large enough to bite off and swallow any of the King's limbs. The King chuckled, making sure not to touch the pointy end of the single upwards horn on the end of her snout.

"Now, I should warn you about a couple of things," the King advised. Kynigós quirked an eyebrow. "This castle is a battlefield the likes of which you've never before seen,"

Kynigós tried not to look skeptical. "No offence, Your Majesty, but I seriously doubt it's anything I can't handle,"

"No? Tell me, what sorts of things have you handled in the past?" the King asked.

Kynigós thought back. "Well, everyone I ever knew was horribly murdered by a psychopath,"

 _Pierce Kynigós slowly came to. He absent-mindedly rubbed the blood out of his eyes as he wondered why he had decided to sleep in such an uncomfortable spot, while still wearing his prosthetic and bleeding, no less, when he saw the dead bodies of his guildmates and it all came rushing back._

 _He clenched his fists and picked up his gun from where it had fallen. "Knightwalker, you are fucking dead," he growled, looking down at his rifle. She had taken his guild, and she had taken his girl. She'd left him with nothing but his gun . . so he'd use it. Then and there he decided; no more notching his barrel for killing beasts. From this day onwards, there would be a notch for every Royal Guard he put a bullet in . . and a special place on his trophy rack for Erza Knightwalker's head._

"Within two hours of being sent to the future, I threw a bomb into a dragon's eye,"

 _"Oi! Snake breath!" A shout rang out from nearby, and Nefartari turned in surprise, before spotting a human coated in khaki with something clutched in his hand running towards her. She grinned, rippling her forked tongue and glaring with her right eye, unwilling to move, even to address the human. "An appetissser? How deliciousss,"_

 _"Eat this!" Kynigós roared, tossing the object from his hunter's pack into the air, where it sailed towards Nefartari's exposed eye. The dragoness snorted and closed her eyelid. Even the thin membrane that protected her eye would be sufficient to deflect any projectile a puny human could throw at it, she was certain of that. And she continued to be certain of it right until the object, a dusty bottle, made contact with her eyelid._

 _And then the impromptu Molotov Cocktail that Kynigós had engineered exploded._

 _Nefartari roared in shock and pain, staggering away and letting go of Equivaton - who jackknifed to his feet and blasted a roar of Earth at her._

 _"Forget thisss," the dragoness hissed, spreading her wings and leaping into the air, keeping her injured eye shut tight. Another shot of Equivaton's breath attack encouraged her to accelerate her retreat._

"There was also the zero-gravity dragon escape, the time I repelled a dragon on a moving train, the time we fought off a zombie apocalypse, the day that Ryos killed my best friend and left us stranded in the future. Oh, and let's not forget how I helped save your city from an army of dragons,"

"All impressive feats, to be sure," the King nodded. "But here, you will be faced with battles of words and wit. Politics is a never-ending game where everyone's always trying to gain and hold onto power and influence,"

Kynigós raised an eyebrow. "Politics? That's it?"

"Politics is all that stands between this country and anarchy. Every minister, every nobleman, every politician in the country dreams of filling my shoes and renaming this country after themselves," the King gravely explained. "Some of them have good intentions, sure. There are even some who are genuinely loyal to me. But there are just as many who would become despots, or abscond to a vacation house in Giltena with most of Fiore's treasury in their back pocket,"

"Giltena?" the hunter questioned, having not heard the name before.

"It's a country to the north, I hear they have wonderful topography," Toma brushed the question off. "But that's not all, either. If you think the country is unstable within, the external forces are much more dangerous threats. Thanks to you, Fiore is now the only nation in the world with a dragon at its disposal. The World Government, the Kingdom of Clover, the Alvarez Empire . . they're all global superpowers who enjoy the fact that Fiore is weaker. Zena's existence threatens to tip that balance of power in our favour, and they won't like that. It's likely that they'll try to seduce you and her into pledging allegiance to another nation. Or maybe they'll threaten you. The point is, you've become one of our greatest assets. We can mitigate the effects to a degree by spreading false information. But the fact remains that you are going to become a target,"

"Yeah, well that's not how my life works. I don't get hunted. I hunt," Kynigós declared.

"I know that. But our enemies don't know that. Which means they're going to try for you anyway," the King shrugged. "And because I'd rather get a head start on the rumour mill, let's get the official cover story straight. Shall we?"

"Sure. What do you have in mind?"

"You are not from another universe. Or the future. Or anything like that. Actually, you are a highly trained professional dragon tamer. Fiore has been secretly running a dragon breeding operation that has successfully avoided detection by other nations, until a betrayal from within allowed for nine of the adult dragons from the program to be released,"

"You mean Ryos' shit show a couple of days ago? We're making that part of the cover story?" Kynigós asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Those dragons have been dealt with, but we have more. I'm going to be intentionally vague about how many and where. Let our enemies comb the countryside for secret dragon mills, they'll just waste time and resources. You are Zena's handler and caregiver, as our adult dragons that definitely exist are very careless with their young, and you're both here on my orders because it is no longer possible to keep the program a secret and I want you here as a test case,"

"So we're pretending it's a big secret that got out thanks to Ryos. Got it," Kynigós nodded.

"Yes. Ryos. You, I, Hisui and Arcadios are the only ones who know the truth. Oh, actually I suppose your friends in Fairy Tail and Phoenix's Eye do too, I'll send someone to brief them. If we stick to this story, we'll tie our enemies' intelligence in knots," King Toma explained. "But Ryos is a liability. He's an unknown, and he could expose our story. We need to make finding him a top priority,"

"I agree," Kynigós growled.

"There are threats from within to contend with, as well," the King added. "You've established yourself as a close ally of my daughter. Therefore, you're going to be interpreted as her vassal, and anything you do or say, people will likely assume it is in accordance with the princess' views,"

Kynigós' brow wrinkled. "Hold on, what?"

"If you insult, offend, or in any way slight a minister or politician, they will assume that you have done so on Hisui's command to further some political agenda of hers," the King clarified. "And that will invite retribution. Alternatively, they might try to manipulate you in order to get to her. Don't assume it'll only be people with titles, either. My chauffeur turned out to be a plant from the Kingdom of Clover once. You need to be careful, or you could invite trouble for us all,"

"Don't piss anyone off, take everything with a grain of salt. Got it," the blond nodded.

"Good," Toma smiled. "Now, who's the most adorable thing in the castle? It's you, isn't it?" he cooed, rubbing Zena's sensitive spots and causing the young dragon to erupt with pleasured noises.

"The political battleground, huh?" Kynigós murmured. So much for the easy life.

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, Ariel was hiding in a storage room at the back of the Phoenix's Eye guild hall. A large, holographic blue screen hovered before her, bearing an image of her purple-haired cousin, Yuki Nagato.

"Following the recent conflict of interest with Faraday, Cardinal has requested you give a verbal report on all of your operations since her arrival. He wishes to assess your relationship and whether you can restore operations with her," Yuki instructed. "Immediately,"

"I suppose this is being recorded?" Ariel questioned.

"Correct, but he is watching this feed in real time. You currently have his undivided attention," Yuki nodded.

A faint flush crept across Ariel's cheeks. "Oh. Right. Good. Um . . TFEI operations with Faraday concerning me began when she joined Phoenix's Eye in X777, as we were forewarned. I continued to monitor the Phoenix's Eye guild, while she was reclusive and accrued wealth. I directly interacted with her at the beginning of the six-year timeskip, after the Sempiternal Phoenix sent many of the Phoenix's Eye wizards into the future. Her funds enabled the guild to pay its debts and remain intact in anticipation of the return of the core members. As expected, there were no significant events during that period,"

"Report on the incident with the Infinity Clock?"

"The Canopy has replaced Macbeth, former member of the Oracion Och and current member of Crime Sorciere, with a TFEI duplicate, Brain II,"

 _"Is that your freaky copy of me? Let me out! Right now! I need to help my friends!" This cage contained Macbeth, formerly known as Midnight, once a member of the Oracion Och. He looked half-starved, pale and gaunt, his body animated only by desperate, manic energy. "It is you!" he shouted, glaring at Brain II. "Give me back my face, you imposter!"_

 _"You should feel honoured," Brain II snorted at Macbeth, who peered at the man who was identical to him through a haze. "Your meagre existence is a boon to the Canopy. Few humans can say the same. Behave, and perhaps you might even join the ranks of the TFEI someday,"_

"Through his actions, the events of the non-canon story arc Key of the Starry Heavens transpired in this universe. Faraday was not present at this time. I engaged Brain II in combat and defeated him through tapping the Data Storm,"

 _Ariel smiled as the clouds around her began to billow and circle, congregating on her position. They darkened, funnelling towards her and forming an inverted cone with the Phoenix at its epicentre. "You still don't understand who you're dealing with, do you?" she questioned, folding her arms and tucking her pen behind her ear._

 _"Storm Access!" Ariel commanded, and lightning flashed through the whirling blue clouds like a spiderweb, reaching out to the farthest corners and congregating power in her hand. She withdrew it, and with it, pulled a long, shining rod made of palladium, ending in three prongs; the outer two bending in towards the centre._

"I defeated him and ensured the failure of the Infinity Clock," Ariel finished.

"Are there any other known TFEI associated with the Canopy at large?"

"None that I am aware of. I am confident that I am the only TFEI within Phoenix's Eye. It would not, however, surprise me if the Canopy has infiltrated Fairy Tail. This is only a guess, though. I cannot currently cast suspicion on any individual,"

Yuki nodded. "Report on the Dragon King Festival?"

"TFEI operations during the Festival involved myself, Yuki and Asakura. The original solution of destroying the Eclipse Gate in the present to dispatch the dragons via paradox was invalid, as it would have sent Pierce Kynigós, Zena and Future Lucy back into the Apocrypha timeline. This solution was unacceptable, as Kynigós has the potential to become a powerful weapon against the Canopy. Luckily, there was a built-in canon alternative solution in Ultear Milkovitch casting Arc of Time: Last Ages. We assisted her and made her Spell successful,"

"And the conflict with Faraday?"

Ariel gritted her teeth, the memory still fresh in her mind "Faraday was contracted to use her considerable power to assist us as we saw fit in maintaining temporal order. To ensure that Equivaton would meet Phoenix's Eye and Pierce Kynigós on the Sempiternal Phoenix, Faraday was instructed to use her Storm Dragon Slayer magic to banish Equivaton outside the space-time continuum without being noticed. Instead she intentionally engaged Equivaton, Pierce Kynigós and Zena in conversation and would have revealed valuable intel if not for my and Asakura's intervention,"

 _Faraday paused for a second, looking at Equivaton, Kynigos and Zena. "I . . alright. The truth is -" Suddenly, her body went stiff. She raised her arms, and in an instant built a charge of magic of an intensity that Kynigós had never felt before. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art. Storm of Solitude," And suddenly there was an Equivaton-shaped hole in the world._

"After we forcibly controlled her body to complete her objective," Ariel gulped, trying to swallow her emotions. "She became upset, and revealed her true feelings about our faction,"

 _"I really hate you. All of you, you damn TFEIs, blue or red. You think you're so much better than the Canopy, but you're not. You and your faceless pope, Cardinal . ." Faraday growled, gritting her fangs._

Ariel swallowed. She had thought Faraday was her friend . . but if that was really how she felt . .

Suddenly, there was a crackle like static. Both Ariel and Yuki looked up in shock, hearing a voice that was all at once high and low, youthful and venerable, male and female, and completely alien. "Is that what she called me? Faceless pope?"

Ariel nodded, and the static-like chuckle echoed through her ears again. "I quite like that."

"Cardinal?" the bluenette whispered, hardly believing that her leader, her idol, was actually talking to her. She inhaled, realising that any lack of professionalism would be looked down on. "Um. Should I attempt to reestablish relations with her?"

"No. As I understand, you broke ties with her. Not the other way around."

Ariel stiffened. Her words played back in her mind. You hear me, Faraday? From here on in, you're on your own! Were they going to come back to bite her against her superior?

"I would not want you to sacrifice your pride. Besides, we know her objective. Faraday is irrelevant. Prioritise identifying agents of the Canopy in anticipation of Full Revolution." Cardinal commanded through the screen.

"Yes, sir," Ariel nodded, doing her best to give of the countenance of the perfect operative.

"Dismissed."


	49. A New Mission

Chapter 119: A New Mission

"Whoa there, stranger," a local guard, stationed at the entrance to the western town of Jang'oma, cautioned the latest traveller to enter the settlement.

The newcomer, an incredibly tall man who looked like a knight, clad in form-fitting blue armour reinforced with silver, halted near the guard, whose head was on the same level as his elbows. His head, protected by three beetle-like spikes that extended from each shoulder and his back, and covered by a smooth mask that bore amber-coloured eyeholes, turned to eye the man with irritation.

The spear-wielding guard flinched as the swordsman's right arm came to grip the sword strapped to his hip. It was a strange weapon, almost a cutlass, bright red with veins of pink shot through it like frozen lightning, reaching a hilt protected by a spiked pommel. It was sharply at odds with the rest of his equipment.

"Um, what's your business in Jang'oma?" one of the guards asked.

The strange warrior eyed him for a second from behind those unsettling amber eyepieces, before questioning; "Where is the Blind Sun?" His voice was deep and harsh. He sounded dehydrated. It had to be hot inside that armour.

The guard blinked. "The Blind Sun? You mean, that piece of jewellery at the museum?"

"The museum," His question answered, the warrior stepped forwards.

"Hey, um, wait, you still have to pay the toll," the guard cautioned him -

There was a flash of steel, and a scream that was cut off half-formed.

The guard's decapitated head hit the ground with a thunk, and his body followed suit a second later. Unbothered, the attacker strode into the village, sheathing his blood-coloured sword.

From a nearby alley, a passerby went pale and hastily pulled out a communication lacrima. "H-hello? Rune Knights? Some giant madman with a sword is attacking my village!"

-[CoT]-

It wasn't long until he reached the local museum. Striding up the stairs, he was soon presented with the first obstacle since the guard.

A locked door.

Unimpressed, he pulled back his left fist and punched straight through the lock. Splinters exploded everywhere, bouncing off his armour, and the emancipated locking mechanism fell to the ground. The door swung open with a creak, and he nonchalantly strode in.

"Excuse me?" The stranger paused, seeing an elderly curator shamble towards him, supported by a walking stick. "The museum's not open,"

"I seek the Blind Sun," the swordsman droned.

The curator peered at him. "Oh. Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt. It's so rare that we get visitors around here, who am I to say no to a prospective customer? Follow me, follow me, I'll show you,"

So the elderly man led him into an adjacent room, dominated by display cases. The cases contained mostly jewellery and ancient tools and artefacts, but the room's centrepiece was a glass box containing a perfectly cut, multifaceted, opaque topaz gemstone, set into a golden rim with eight spikes encircling it. It did, indeed, have the appearance of a dying sun. "It's quite a magnificent piece, isn't it? No one knows where it came from, or why it was made,"

"I do," The swordsman seemed lost in thought, ignorant of the surprised curator peering up at him. "It was a gift, from a blacksmith to his lover, some two hundred years ago. It wasn't blind, then, either. She would hold it up and it would shine brighter than the sun itself,"

". . . But how can you know this?" the curator finally asked.

In a flash of motion, the warrior smashed the case and snatched the gemstone from within, cradling it in his palm as though it were a tiny baby. "Finally," he reverentially murmured.

"Wh-what are you doing?" the curator asked, before choking on his protests as a crystalline sword buried itself in his heart. The attacker rolled his eyes behind his mask and resheathed his sword, letting the corpse collapse to the ground. A pocket swung open in his armour and he deposited the Blind Sun into it, before making to return to the door. His business in this town was concluded.

Unfortunately, it seemed the town's business with him was not. As he returned to the entrance, the warrior drew to a halt.

Several ranks of Rune Knights, six wide and seven deep, met him, presided over by what looked like some kind of commanding officer.

"Surrender now!" the leader, standing at the head of the group, commanded.

The warrior strode forwards, his amber eyepieces glinting with menace.

"I'm warning you. My name is Jacelyn Vax, and we have been authorised to use magic to -" With a flourish, the warrior drew his sword and levelled it at the Rune Knights, before charging forwards. The leader paled and dashed left, dodging the strike and preparing to block a counterattack. But the warrior ignored her and, instead, hit her soldiers like a sledgehammer, sending blood flying everywhere as his sword danced through the weak points in their armour.

"Your fight is with me!" Jacelyn roared, producing a paintbrush, which flashed with a rainbow magic circle. "Three-Colour -" In a flash, the warrior span on the balls of his feet and, with a diagonal slash, cut straight through the half-formed spell, causing it to break into pieces. The knight's eyes widened, and she drew back - which gave her enemy the opportunity to break through the rear rank of the soldiers. Ignoring the Rune Knights, he started to stride away.

Passing her petrified soldiers, Jacelyn broke through and gave pursuit. "You are coming with me!" she roared, throwing her paintbrush forwards -

Immediately, the swordsman span and thrusted with his sword, splitting her paintbrush in half and leaving a bloody gash down the length of her forearm. With a scream, Jacelyn dropped the broken brush and clutched her wrist, collapsing to the ground.

The swordsman regarded her for a second, before turning and walking away. It would have been easy to kill her. But time was of the essence. Every second counted.

-[CoT]-

It was a month after the conclusion of the Grand Magic Games - and all the chaos that had followed - and the wizards of Phoenix's Eye had settled back in nicely.

So Sarah expected nothing more than the usual bills and complaints when she opened the morning's mail. "Bill, bill, complaint, bill . . Alice, this pile is for Master. Mind taking it up when you have a moment?" she asked the orangette, who nodded and accepted the heap of bills and complaints.

"Now, what's left . . oh," Sarah frowned, recognising the envelope as bearing the insignia of the Magic Council. "I wonder what we did to get the Magic Council angry . . Sarph?" Surprisingly, the letter was addressed, not to Master Feng or even to Phoenix's Eye as a whole, but specifically to Sarph. Sarah hummed thoughtfully, and called, "Yoo-hoo! Sarph! Letter for you!"

The muscle-bound golden knight immediately crossed to the bar and deftly plucked the letter from Sarah's fingers. "Odd," He tore it open and scanned the contents. "They want to consult me about a violent criminal who I am connected with . ."

"Which of the usual suspects is it this time?" the bartender asked, already preparing to shout for Hare.

Sarph went pale. "It's my old teacher,"

-[CoT]-

"You all didn't have to come," Sarph declared, looking around at Team Pierce. Pierce, Tyria, Grace and Boomer smiled back at the tall man who they called a teammate. "You helped all of us out when we needed it. It's only fair that we return the favour," Pierce assured him.

"Of course, that doesn't extend to Hare," Tyria rolled her eyes, and everyone shook their heads in dismay.

It wasn't long until they were entering the Magic Council's headquarters. Pierce smiled up at the building, knowing that Erik was somewhere within those walls.

As they entered, the receptionist immediately noticed them. "Sarph?" she called. Pierce rolled his eyes, not her again.

"Yes?" the knight replied.

"Everyone's waiting for you upstairs, go to the second floor and it's the first door on the right," the receptionist instructed. Sarph nodded and followed the directions, Phoenix's Eye trailing in his wake.

Entering through the door, they found themselves seated at what seemed to amount to a conference room. Pierce was gratified to see Lahar at the head of the table, joined by his partner - Doranbolt, he thought - a couple of other people who looked like they were part of the Magic Council, a brown-haired boy they didn't recognise, and . . "Erik!" Grace beamed, happy to see her biological brother.

"Hey, little sis," the Poison Dragon Slayer greeted her with a smile.

"I told you he'd bring his friends," Lahar smirked at one of the councilmen the Phoenixes didn't recognise, and the man rolled his eyes and passed Lahar what looked like a hundred-jewel coin. Sarph sat down next to the strange boy with the uncomfortable feeling that they had been the subject of a bet. Boomer joined him, while Grace took a seat next to Erik with Pierce on her other side and Tyria next to him. The final seat at the table remained unoccupied.

"May I ask what this is about?" Sarph questioned, and Lahar nodded. "You read the letter?"

"I sure did. It fed me some nonsense about Master turning evil, killing innocents and stealing stuff from museums. But that can't be right!" the unknown boy exclaimed, and Sarph raised an eyebrow. "Who exactly are you?" After all, he didn't look like an employee of the Magic Council.

"Calvin Jones. You?" the boy introduced himself, looking at Sarph suspiciously.

"My name is Sarph," the older man introduced himself, drawing breath to say more, but Calvin's eyes suddenly brightened. "Sarph? The Sarph? Master's old apprentice?! I've heard so much about you!"

Sarph blinked, before smiling. "So the old man took another student after all. And after swearing up and down that I would be the last, too. Who'd have thought?"

"Well, it wasn't quite like that," Calvin admitted. "I was his blacksmith's son, but my old man passed, and he sort of took care of me for a while. He vanished a couple of months ago, though . . I figured he just had some business to attend to back in Alakitasia," he shrugged awkwardly.

"Alakitasia?" one of Lahar's cohorts sharply gasped, before pulling out a scroll. "Then the rumours are true,"

"What rumours?" Erik asked. "Speaking of which, why am I even here?"

"We'll get to that," Lahar assured him. "Arnold, speak,"

"So, this Master of yours, he is the famed Swordmaster?" Arnold questioned.

"Yep," Calvin nodded proudly, and Sarph gave a short nod.

"The same Swordmaster who is known in Alakitasia by the epithet; The Swordmaster of Destruction?" the bookish man continued, and the boy blacksmith paused.

"Well, there's a title I haven't heard for a long time," Sarph admitted.

"I didn't know that . ." the brunette trailed off.

"He was exiled from a principality in Alakitasia for the murder of a nobleman's daughter," the scribe continued with a tone of condemnation.

"That's not what happened!" Sarph suddenly shouted, looking angry.

There was a moment of silence.

Unabashed, Arnold continued. "Regardless, his villainous nature seems to have resurfaced. As I said, he was recently seen stealing a priceless jewel nearly two centuries old from a museum. He killed the curator, as well as several guards and Rune Knights who tried to stop him,"

"That can't be right . . he would never," Calvin murmured, looking shell-shocked.

"Do any of you have any information that might either explain his actions or assist in his capture?" Lahar directly asked the asssembled group.

"Sorry, but I haven't had any contact with my old Master for more than fifteen years," Sarph shook his head. Calvin still looked like his brain was broken. "He . . can't,"

"A pity, but I expected as much," Lahar sighed. "Which leads me to the second reason for this meeting. I am officially giving the guild of Phoenix's Eye a job request. Track down the Swordmaster of Destruction and bring him to justice. Presumably alive,"

"I'll do it," Sarph immediately nodded, but Pierce interrupted. "Hold on. If we're talking a job here, we're going to have to discuss payment,"

"We're already ahead of you," Doranbolt nodded, gesturing to the criminal between them and clearing his throat. "Former Oracion Och member Erik Hystia has officially been cleared for probationary short-term employment alongside trusted associates of the Magic Council. If, upon such a time that the authorised job is completed, Mr. Hystia has performed to a standard that is deemed as satisfactory to both his supervisors and the Magic Council's review board, he will be released into the custody of the organisation known as Phoenix's Eye on long-term probation with the stipulation that he not attempt to leave the ranks of the aforementioned organisation for a minimum period of five years,"

Everyone turned this over in their heads.

"So you're going to pay us with Erik," Tyria finally managed to puzzle out the meaning.

"Essentially," Lahar nodded.

"We're in," Pierce and Grace immediately agreed, and Tyria nodded confirmation a second later. Everyone looked at Boomer, who shrugged and nodded. "Oh, alright. Wouldn't be a Team Pierce mission without me, now would it?" he grinned.

"I'm in too, if you'll have me. I don't believe for a second that Master's really gone bad. Something else is going on here," Calvin declared, looking fully convinced.

Pierce looked around the table. "Well, gang. Looks like we're doing this again,"

"I can't wait!" Grace grinned.

-[CoT]-

It wasn't long before the seven of them were on the train. Pierce tapped the lacrima remote that Lahar had given him, shaking his head and remembering what the councilman had said.

"I am required by my job to give you this and tell you that it is the remote to an electrical lacrima implanted in Erik's shoulder. I highly doubt you'll need it, but this was one of the conditions of the probation. It's also a condition of the probation that Erik not be told about this," Lahar had explained, and Pierce blinked. Erik was only across the room from them and Lahar wasn't even whispering.

"You realise we're in the same room as the guy whose hearing is so good he can literally hear our thoughts?" Pierce pointed out.

"As I said, neither you nor I are allowed to directly tell Erik about this," Lahar repeated, and Pierce nodded in dawning comprehension.

"Don't worry. I didn't hear a thing," Erik called with a smile.

-[CoT]-

"So, where are we going?" Grace asked.

"West," Calvin explained. The group - sans Boomer, who, of course, was driving the Sonic Boom and would meet them at their rendezvous - were loaded onto a train.

"Alakitasia, as you all know, is to the east of Fiore," Sarph pointed out. "When Master fled to Fiore, he went as far away from his home as he could. He made his home in the plains of Western Fiore,"

"I see," Pierce nodded.

"I do have one lead on him," Calvin offered. "I heard at the local tavern that he's been seen with one of the teachers from a school a couple of towns over. A lady named Servhardt, I think,"

"Didn't you say you thought he was in Alakitasia?" Tyria raised an eyebrow.

"I did. I mean, if you knew our Master, you would know to take any rumour that he's dating with a huge grain of salt," the boy shrugged.

Sarph shook his head in disbelief. "A student and a girlfriend, who'd have - wait. How old is this Ms. Servhardt?" he suddenly frowned.

"Late twenties, early thirties,"

Tyria chuckled. "Why is that important?"

Sarph just shook his head. "Because Master really shouldn't be dating someone twenty years younger than him,"

"Assuming they are dating," Erik pointed out, and Grace nodded. "She might be an evil witch controlling his mind!"

Sarph nodded, taking the suggestion seriously. "Well, we'll find out when we get there. In the meantime, everyone get some rest. It's still a few hours,"

"I hope to Ankhseram none of you snore," Erik huffed.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **So, new story arc! Welcome to the Sword of Destruction arc!**

 **I also want to make it very clear that I messed up during my planning stages when I was laying out the geography of Earth Land - which, incidentally, was before I had actually seen the Alvarez arc of Fairy Tail. I thought that Alvarez was to the east of Fiore, and Magnolia was on Fiore's eastern coast, when in fact, they both are canonically to the west.**

 _ **I based my entire global geographical setup on this one 'concrete fact'.**_

 **And now that I know that I messed this up, it is way too late to go back and retroactively 'fix' it. So . . in Phoenix's Eye canon, Fiore and Alakitasia and the Alvarez Empire are all geographical mirrors of how they are in canon. I'll make up an in-universe explanation for that eventually. Maybe the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. But probably not.**

 **Also, let's everyone give a warm welcome to Calvin Jones! A fan-submitted character from almost two years ago that I have been waiting and waiting to bring into the story until exactly now. Don't forget to review! Peace!**


	50. In Which Trains Come To Life & Attack Us

Chapter 120: In Which Trains Come To Life And Attack Us

The train pulled up, and everyone dismounted, stepping out onto the platform. "Welcome to Demuri Estate," Cal declared with an air of annoyance.

"Estate? I thought we were going to a town?" Grace questioned, jumping down after him. The rest of the team followed.

"This is a town. The Demuri family owns so much land that they established their own township," Calvin grumbled.

"Ah yes, the Demuris. One of the oldest and wealthiest families in Fiore. You remember the guest from the second day of the Grand Magic Games?" Sarph questioned.

"Not really," Tyria admitted.

"Lady Akari Demuri. She's . . part of . ." Everyone paused, feeling a sudden surge of a foreign magic power in the vicinity. The six wizards all turned, immediately realising that the source of the magic power was the only other person on the platform.

She was tall, with hair styled upwards into a fan shape, predominantly dark green with streaks of harsh, unforgiving purple shot through it. A summery red dress, adorned with streaks of black pixels, draped her body, and she looked down, avoiding the wizards' gaze as though she were intruding on a private moment.

". . That is her we sense, right?" Pierce questioned.

"That's weird," Erik frowned, tilting his head. "I can't hear her thoughts. All I'm getting is a . . buzzing,"

The woman in question looked up as they spoke, seeming almost surprised. Her face was round and supple, with brown eyes that had flecks of red in them. Her lips were pale, and her gaze seemed empty as she eyed them with a blank expression. "Oh. You must be who they sent. Are you here for me?"

"Depends. Are you a Miss Servhardt?" Sarph questioned.

She laughed, a hollow sound that held no amusement. "You mean Nino? No, no. You could call me by her name, but it wouldn't be accurate,"

"Then who are you?" Tyria questioned.

"If you so desire, you could call me Entropy. Or perhaps The Mother of Mischief might be to your taste. Or think of something else, if you so choose. What right have I to tell you what to do?" the now-identified Entropy shrugged dispassionately.

"Sounds like a dark wizard's moniker," Erik was immediately on guard. The Phoenixes nodded in agreement, while Cal just seemed confused.

"A dark wizard? Me? Hardly. They're all about taking life and freedom away. I, though, give such things freely,"

The group paused. Her words were nice, but her empty tone had them on edge. There was something fundamentally wrong about this Entropy person.

"Observe," Suddenly, Entropy's hand glowed with red light.

"Wha - wait!" Sarph commanded, but it came a moment too late; the red-clad woman pressed her glowing hand to the wall of the train that had not yet left the station.

"What did you just do?" Pierce urgently demanded as a great heaving noise came from an unknown source.

"I gave the gift of life to that which had none. I only wish there was someone who could do the same to me," For a second, Entropy looked downcast and turned away. "But you all enjoy your new friend. I have other places to be anyway. Ta-ta!"

"Wait, don't leave yet!" Pierce shouted, but Grace tapped him. "Um, Pierce, we have a bigger problem . . literally,"

"What do you mean?" Pierce asked, realising that everyone behind him was turning around. Frowning, he followed suit.

The front carriage of the train had twisted Ike a massive, wooden snake, lifting the engine off the tracks and turning the boiler to face them. Pierce paled, noticing that the cowcatcher and the undercarriage had split from the boiler with sharp protrusions that looked a lot like teeth, and the rounded front of the boiler had sprouted a massive, angry red eyeball.

"Did that crazy lady turn the train into a monster?" Tyria asked in mounting dread.

"What the . ." Erik moaned in disbelief.

The train's mouth split open wide and it raised its head, a shrill, high-pitched whistle of a roar echoing through the station. And then it lunged, jaws open wide to devour the six wizards.

Everyone scattered, Sarph taking off, Grace vanishing into reality, and Pierce, Tyria and Erik taking cover inside the station. Cal, though, stood his ground. "Metalmake: Rod!" he invoked, producing a massive iron bar that he wedged into the jaws of the oncoming train. The animated machine's eyes went wide as it choked on the sudden obstruction.

"Take this!" Cal shouted, punching the monster right in its eye. The train reared backwards, surging upwards to get out of range, and glowering down at them. It worked it's jaw furiously, crushing and splintering the rod, before swallowing with an audible gulp. A happy belch of steam shot out of its funnel.

"Is there anyone else on board?" Pierce questioned.

"No, this is the end of the line. I saw the driver get off," Tyria explained, moving to join Cal.

"Good, then we don't have to hold back. Tyria, Cal, Erik, keep it distracted! Sarph, cut those couplings! Me and Grace will look for weak spots!" Pierce rapidly commanded.

The train whistled furiously, before lunging again. Erik leapt at it from the side and body-slammed it off-balance, causing the head to carve a hole into the platform. "Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!" he declared, punching the side of the boiler, which dented. The Poison Dragon Slayer frowned. "How am I supposed to poison a train?"

"TechType: Drill!" The train shrieked and reared away as Tyria's spinning bits gouged a hole into the underside of its jaw. Lashing the carriages that made up its length, it pulled away from the platform and shook the rear carriage menacingly, before slamming it down towards Tyria and Cal.

"That looks useful!" Cal grinned, seeing Tyria's magic, before mimicking her and casting; "TechType: Drill!" Tyria blinked, watching in surprise as Cal's arms merged and transformed in a way identical to hers - and the younger boy promptly collapsed under the weight. "OHMYGODTHISISHEAVY!" he panicked.

"How are you -" Tyria hastily brought up her drill again to intercept the attacking carriage, and the train screeched in fear, withdrawing just before it could gain a fresh hole.

Pierce, riding Raya, swooped in, bathing the train in flame, but the fire washed over the magicallised wood and metal without touching it. "Crap . . we need a new strategy! What's the weakness of a train?!" Raya weaved to avoid a blast of steam from the engine's funnel.

Sarph, his wings glowing, suddenly swooped in and struck at the coupling that connected the rear carriage to the rest of the train, answering, "The connections!" But «Tenshi Meiyo» just bounced off ineffectually. "What the -" he spluttered as Erik passed him, clinging to the side of the train. "You can't just cut through magic metal," the younger man growled, before punching the glass window. It shattered, and he crawled inside. "You gotta target the weaker spots. Poison Dragon's Roar!" he raged, unleashing a torrent of dirty liquid on the inside of the train. The creature screamed, a harsh, metallised noise, and frantically lashed its snake-like length to throw the two off. Sarph took wing, and Erik slid down the thrashing floor of the carriage to reach the door, which he kicked open and emerged into the next carriage. "Grace!" he shouted.

Hearing the location of her blood brother and using it as a reference point for a spatial distortion, Grace leapt out of the ceiling and joined Erik, landing in a seat. "What's the plan?" she questioned.

"Take it apart from the inside," Erik grinned ferally, and Grace matched his expression, throwing herself into the air and spreading her arms like wings. "Reality Dragon's . ."

"Poison Dragon's . ."

"Corrosive World!" both roared in unison, Grace spreading distortions in reality throughout the train, before both Dragon Slayers roared in unison, the twinned attacks enhancing each other, Grace's magic breaking down Erik's poison and reconstituting it as the fragmented space scattered the result all over the inside and outside of the train; a potent, magic-devouring acid.

Spinning, the younger sibling grabbed her brother, tore open a rift in reality and threw them both through it, landing on the platform with Tyria and Cal. The four watched, as did Sarph, Pierce and Raya above, as the train shrieked in despair, the greyed acid eating into its body and leaving everything it touched blackened and lifeless. "Was that a Unison Raid?" Sarph questioned, amazed.

Pierce winced as the train's whistle blew a long, mournful death-rattle, before the unfortunate creature curled up and was still. "That was . ." he started.

"Awesome!" Grace beamed, throwing a palm up and high-giving Erik. "Hell yeah it was," the redhead smiled back at her.

"Horrible," The end of Pierce's sentence went almost unheard by the rest of his group over the celebrations. And the only one who did hear it briefly raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Alright, alright. The victory party can wait. We need to go after that woman, Entropy. And we also need to find this Servhardt woman," Sarph declared.

"And rendezvous with Boomer," Tyria added, and the knight nodded. "That too,"

"Then let's go," Erik and Pierce declared simultaneously. They both exchanged glances, a small chuckle escaping Pierce's lips while Erik looked irritated.

"Jinx!" Grace giggled.

-[CoT]-

"I really hope that didn't set the tone for this entire adventure," Pierce grumbled as they left the station, a haunted look still on his face. "Because that is quite possibly the most ridiculous fight I've ever taken part in,"

"Aren't you forgetting the time you fought your father on top of a runaway caravan?" Sarph pointed out.

"Or the time we duelled an assassin across dimensions?" Grace questioned.

"No. Fighting a train trumps them both," Pierce deadpanned.

"So stuff like this happens a lot around here," Erik assumed.

"I suppose I shouldn't forget the time I rode a phoenix into battle against a man on a flying snake," Pierce added with a wry grin.

"Oh ha ha," his new teammate rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Cal? How did you copy my spell?" Tyria questioned.

"It's my magic, Mimic. I can copy any spell I observe or bring to mind," Cal explained.

Everyone paused, staring at him in surprise. "Seriously?" Grace gasped. "That sounds like an incredibly powerful magic," Sarph agreed,

"Well, sort of . . my memory's not that great, and I need to bring to mind every little detail to mimic a spell. All the little things are easy to forget . . a lot of the time I can only do it if someone's just used the spell right in front of me," the brown-haired blacksmith admitted, looking bashful.

"Still, that's cool!" Grace endorsed.

"I suppose it is," Cal agreed, and, with a flicker of bent space, Grace was suddenly hanging from mid-air before him. "Can you copy my spatial distortions?"

Cal squinted, and, looking closely, Grace noticed that, for a second, a red magic circle manifested over his eye. Then he threw up an arm and sent the air ripping, before casually stepping through the rippling air and vanishing. Grace let herself fall to the ground as Cal emerged in front of the group, and grinned, looking proud of himself. "Hey, that's handy!"

Suddenly Grace was in front of him again, grinning. "I know, right?"

"Great, now there's two of them," Tyria jokingly complained.

Soon, the group reached the town. "So, that Lady Demuri person from the Grand Magic Games? Were you saying she owns this town or something?" Tyria asked.

Sarph nodded confirmation. "The Demuris are an ancient household of nobility. They're very powerful politically. This entire town's part of their estate, and most everyone here is their vassal. From what I've heard, the taxes are -"

"Hey, everyone!" Boomer pulled up beside them in his car, the Sonic Boom's engine purring like a well-fed cat. Sarph briefly grumbled at being interrupted again.

"So, I found out where that Servhardt woman we're looking for lives," the short boy cut to the chase.

"You did?" Pierce nodded approvingly.

"We're looking for a Nino E. Servhardt. Apparently she used to be a handmaiden to some local noblewoman's daughter, but got fired. Something about stealing this antique hairpin. She's been making ends meet as a janitor in a local private school since, and living in the staff dorms," Boomer nodded. "It's just out of town,"

"And here I thought I was the research guy," Sarph dryly admitted. "Good work,"

"Well? We gonna head over there or what?" Erik questioned.

"It's a good place to start. Besides, I've been wondering for a while what schools in Fiore are like. If a Fiorean college is called a guild, then what do Fioreans call a college?" Tyria mused.

-[CoT]-

"I was expecting so much more," the Electrian witch admitted, disappointed.

Upon arriving at Armand Academy, they found themselves outside a stately red building, which looked aged and weathered. The grounds were well-kept, the building well-maintained, and the entire place presented the purest picture of high society. "This place is nothing like the College. Where's the life? The colourful lights? The students practising magic on the sports grounds?"

Boomer looked to the left and saw a couple of boys playing what looked like tennis, but with tiny, long-handled racquets and some kind of rounded dart instead of a ball. "Don't look to your left," he advised. They had left the Sonic Boom at the gate and proceeded on foot.

Upon entering the foyer of the main building, they were waylaid by a butler. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked, regarding them with dismissive suspicion.

Pierce, in the lead as usual, suddenly felt self-conscious about his appearance, patting some wrinkles out of his orange jacket and navy blue pants. "We're looking for a Ms. Servhardt. We're guild wizards on a job, and she's our only lead. Do you know where she is?"

The butler quirked an eyebrow. "Certainly. Follow me," he declared, striding past them and back outside. Frowning a bit, the wizards followed him, and he led them around the side of the Academy, towards the back, eventually reaching a side door that was much smaller and less ornate than the main one. "Enter through here. It's the servants' door,"

Pierce frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Take the first left, and follow the corridor until you reach the fifth door on the right. Ms. Servhardt's quarters are there, and she should be there," the butler explained, ignoring his question.

"Ah, well thank you," Pierce nodded magnanimously.

"Don't thank him," Erik growled. Suddenly the butler was pressed against the wall, an irritated Poison Dragon Slayer glaring him down. "You might not know this, but I have pretty good hearing. I can even hear someone's thoughts. So I've been privy to every silent insult you just threw against my friends, and I don't much care for people who call us filth,"

"Erik, stop," Pierce commanded,

"But-"

Pierce fixed him with his best 'I-am-dominant-alpha-you-will-submit-to-me' look. Typically reserved for defiant beasts, but occasionally useful for humans. And it worked, Erik releasing the butler, who frantically scrambled away.

"He took us around the back like this because he didn't want us tracking filth through the building," Erik growled.

"Look. Erik. This is part of being a guild wizard. Sometimes, when we go on jobs, they end up being for people who are only hiring us as a last resort. Who'd rather not associate with us. They're jerks, sure, but we have to maintain a reputation as professionals,"

"Why?" Cal interrupted, and everyone looked at him. "I've heard a lot about Phoenix's Eye. I thought you were big time, big deal types who don't take crap from anyone?"

"We don't," Pierce confirmed. "But we also don't alienate prospective future customers. You think that guy's going to want to hire us in the future?"

"I wouldn't work for him anyway," Erik snorted.

"Would you work for him if you were broke and starving and had no other chance of income?" the Tamer questioned.

"Doesn't dignity count for anything?" the Dragon Slayer retorted.

"Of course it does. But you have to take care of yourself too," Pierce argued back.

"Enough. We're wasting time," Sarph interrupted, pushing through them and entering the building. "Let's go meet Servhardt,"

Erik frowned at his friend, who nodded and followed the knight. 'Pierce . . something's different about you. You're not the same as you were all those years ago. What happened?' Frowning for a second, he focused his hearing, trying to tune in on Pierce's head.

'He doesn't get it. It's not like we can just do whatever we want with no consequences. We have to do it right, stay alive and safe. We can't afford to be reckless,' The man raised a surprised eyebrow. What had gotten into Pierce to make him so worried about protecting everyone?

Finding the door they had been pointed to, Sarph knocked. "Excuse me? Is there a Nino Servhardt in here?" he questioned.

No response.

Frowning, the blond tried the handle, and was surprised to find it unlocked. He swung the door open and peered inside. "Hello?"

Again, there was no response. "I can hear someone breathing," Erik pointed out. "No thoughts, though. She might be asleep,"

Sarph strode inside, quickly followed by the rest of the group. The living space was small, a door on the side leading into a bathroom, which Sarph confirmed was empty, and a single bed and wardrobe in a room barely large enough to fit the furniture. The bed was occupied, a large shape beneath the covers. Sarph frowned, everyone crowding behind him to get a look. "Is that her?" Pierce asked, looking at Cal. The blankets were covering the face of the bed's occupant. "How should I know? I don't know what this Servhardt girl looks like," Cal replied.

Suddenly, Erik heard a deep and identifiably masculine voice from under the covers; 'They fell for it,'

"Everyone out! Now!" he shouted, lifting Grace in both hands and making to leave the room - only for pink gas to billow in through the doorway. He only needed one whiff to know they had a problem. "Sleeping gas!"

The man in the bed sat up, throwing the covers off, and raising what looked like a gigantic harpoon. He was tall, muscled and square-jawed, with beady eyes that promised death visible through the gas mask that was covering his face. "Nobody move," he growled. And in the moment of hesitation, the sleeping gas rolled into the room and enveloped the lot of them. Erik and Grace, being closest to the door, were first to collapse, their enhanced senses of smell working against them. It overtook Tyria and Boomer, Cal following a moment later. Pierce Requipped his flute, ready to fight, and breathed in deeply, trying to hold his breath, but accidentally inhaled gas in the process and went down. Sarph kept his jaw shut tight as the knockout gas filled the room, locking eyes with the unknown assailant.

The man levelled his weapon at Sarph, the massive spike at the end of the harpoon-looking machine glinting. "Strictly speaking, I don't really need you alive," he spoke through the circular mouthpiece of the mask.

The armoured man reached for his sword with his left hand

And the weapon discharged, launching the massive spike forwards. Sarph couldn't dodge, the assault was too fast, and the harpoon went straight through his left shoulder. Blood and torn flesh splattered across the wall.

Sarph gasped in pain. Immediately, he bit together again, but it was too late, and the world turned blurry. He had inhaled the gas.

The man watched, content, as his spike retracted, letting Sarph collapse to the ground, his left arm a bloody mess. "Hope he wasn't that former student the big guy said might be coming," the man frowned. He'd been warned that one of the people in the group was a former student of the boss, and he was to be harmed as little as possible. "But all the same, that was satisfying,"

As the gas started to disperse, he pulled out a communication lacrima and dialled a number. "Hello? Big guy? It's Mister Thick here,"

"Do you have him?" the dry, rasping voice of the swordsman who had stolen the Blind Sun echoed through the phone.

"Maybe. I got a group here, five male, two female. Don't know if one of them's your boy,"

"He is my enemy, nothing more," the other end of the line growled.

"Well, whatever. Want me to just bring the lot of 'em?"

"Yes. Hostages are always useful,"

"You gots it, boss. See you at the rendezvous point," Mister Thick flipped the phone shut and inspected his captives. "Arright. Let's get cracking,"

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, palace life was proving enjoyable for Pierce Kynigós. The campaign of misinformation about the Dragons of Fiore seemed to be effective so far, as he was constantly receiving questions about the secret Dragon breeding programme.

Luckily, Toma had instructed him on how to handle the questions. "Just say whatever comes into your head. Half of the questions will be honest curiosity, just as many will be spies seeking information on behalf of other countries. But if you constantly lie and contradict yourself and everyone else about the details, we'll tie their intelligence in knots. The spies will waste time and resources looking for dragon farms that don't exist, and our enemies won't know if we have two dragons or two hundred,"

"Callous. I like it," the hunter had replied.

"Consider that your first lesson in politics," Toma had assured him.

Kynigós chuckled, recalling the conversation. He'd learned, alright. Politics was about information. About making your enemy think that trying to oppose you is pointless. The easiest victory is one where the enemy gives up before even attacking.

And the upshot of his lesson was that Zena had free reign of the palace. The King was trusting the rumour mill to exaggerate Zena's size and threat capacity. To aid in the deception and satisfy his protective instincts, Kynigós was near-constantly keeping an eye on Zena, but had not discarded his old coat. The fact that, were anyone to ask, he could honestly admit it was stained with dragon blood, helped solidify the image that he was doing his best to give off - that of some kind of half-crazed foreign dragon tamer.

As he watched Zena jump around the ballroom, twitching her wings and trying to suspend herself in the air, heavy footsteps echoed behind him. "Arcadios?" he guessed.

"No," an unknown voice interrupted.

Like lightning, Kynigós span, drew and cocked his gun, and had it pressed to the newcomer's forehead. "Sneaking up on me is a very bad idea," he hissed. He expected the newcomer to be an unfortunate servant, who would likely scream, run away and spread stories of the terrifying dragon hunter.

Instead, the man smiled from under his black hood. "I see you're as dangerous as the rumours suggest. And volatile, too,"

"Volatile," Kynigós paused, lowering his weapon. "I like that," The word reminded him of a volcano on the verge of eruption. He enjoyed the comparison.

"My name is Kama. Have you heard of me?"

Kynigós' brow wrinkled. "Kama . . oh. You're the leader of those Hungry Wolf Knights I've heard so much about,"

"Indeed," the man nodded. He was missing his scythes and face mask. "So you know who we are?"

"Yeah. You're the executioners,"

"Precisely. And, in my humble opinion, you are exactly the sort of man who would be perfectly suited to join our group,"

Kynigós blinked. "Join you?"

"We're not different people. I enjoy a good hunt as much as you," Kama bowed his head respectfully.

"I've heard about your methods. You like to release prisoners sentenced to death into the caves beneath the city and hunt them down for sport," The blond's brow furrowed.

"Yes,"

A fist like stone swung towards his cheek. Kama barely bandaged to block it, catching Kynigós' hand in his. But then the Dragon Slayer's fingers glowed with orange light and Kama hastily released his fist, already feeling the magic swelling in it.

"You make me sick," Kynigós spat. "A true hunter respects his prey. A hunt is a battle of wills, pitting your best against your target's. But people like you and your little gang? You're not hunters. You're just sanctioned murderers with extra steps. There's no honour in hunting someone who's weak and starving. And you want me to join your pathetic little murder games? If I ever see you in those caves, it will be as an enemy,"

Kama's smile twitched and drooped, transforming into a grimace. "I make you sick? How dare you speak to me like that, you filthy sinner! In spite of all your crimes, I made you an unthinkably generous offer, and you have the gall to not only turn me down but insult me? You should be grovelling at my feet, begging forgiveness for your sins!"

Kynigós gazed at him through half-lidded eyes. "I'm afraid that isn't going to happen. Now. You have five seconds to get out of my sight, or we'll see if Zena likes human flesh as much as her mother does," So far as he knew, Zena's mother Kixezen had never eaten a human, but this guy didn't need to know that.

Kama winced, glancing past Kynigós at the clumsy dragonet. "Likes . . flesh?"

Kynigós chuckled and raised his prosthetic left arm. "You do realise I didn't just cut off my arm because I felt like it," Actually, he did; he'd been stung in the hand by a lethal scorpion. Sacrificing the arm was his only way to survive. But apparently this palace was all about maintaining an image, and if people wanted to believe his arm had been chewed off by a dragon, he wouldn't contest it.

"Um . . I just remembered I have to . . um . . it's been nice meeting you properly goodbye,"

Kynigós chuckled as the man dashed away. Perhaps he'd gotten too strong. Or maybe all the tough wizards were out in the guilds. Either way, every knight or warrior he'd met in this place so far was a pushover. But that didn't matter, it wasn't as though he'd come here to fight.

No, he was here for his sister. Who was struggling with flight. Kynigós frowned as he watched her faceplant into the ground again. It was a shame Zena had no one to teach her. Hmm. There had to be something he could do to help.

Maybe the King could get in contact with a specialist. Was dracology a thing?

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Jeez. I did not consider how hard it would be to write around Erik's 'I can hear your thoughts' shtick. Entropy was not supposed to be immune to his power, but if he heard what she was thinking it would have literally given away the whole plot. And I need my twists, damnit.**

 **Oh, also. I like to imagine Entropy as having a mild British accent. Make of that what you will. Peace!**


	51. An Unlikely Rescuer

Chapter 121: An Unlikely Rescuer

Pierce woke up to find himself in chains.

Looking around, he was restrained to the wall of some kind of massive cave. His fellow wizards were arranged in a line in either side of him, Sarph at the far end and Erik next to him. "Erik?" he hissed, hoping that the Poison wizard's enhanced hearing would function even while he was asleep. "Wake up!"

Erik's mouth twitched, and Pierce heard his friend's voice in his ear. "I'm awake. Pretending to be unconscious. Throwing my voice. No one's come in but there's four people in the next cave. Said they're waiting for Sarph to wake up. Grace is up and threw a tantrum but was ignored. Chains are Vengestone. Can't use magic. Weapons are in the corner,"

Pierce scanned the room and saw Sarph's sword, Boomer's boombox and his flute piled together at the far end of the room. How had they gotten his flute? . . Right, he'd Requipped it before passing out. "Kit? Raya! Anyone?!" he shouted, desperately trying to get the attention of his beasts. With the crack in his flute, they could summon themselves.

Intellectually, Pierce knew it was pointless. His beasts couldn't hear anything from outside the flute. The only way to get their attention was to tap his finger against the lacrima inside the flute. But he couldn't give up, he wouldn't let his friends suffer!

It was a few minutes, but eventually Sarph stirred. The knight immediately winced, looking at his arm. His left arm was a bloody mess, and even twitching it sent pain running through his body.

"Keep still. They've been waiting for you to wake up. I'm throwing my voice," Erik hissed in his ear. Sarph imperceptibly nodded. "Four people in the next cave. Two men, two women. One's the lady from the train station. Entropy. Also that man who knocked us out. His name's Thick,"

"He's awake," A voice echoed through the cave, and through one of the two openings that Pierce could see, four people entered.

The first was the same man who had knocked them unconscious. Thick. The second was Entropy, her green and purple fan of hair clashing wildly with her pixelated red and black dress. Behind her was a woman with vibrant red hair, wearing a maid's outfit and black leather boots. If Pierce were to guess, this would be Nino Servhardt, the woman they'd been looking for.

And, bringing up the rear, was the tallest human they'd ever seen. At least eight feet tall, he wore form-fitting blue armour reinforced with silver, halted near the guard, whose head was on the same level as his elbows. His head, protected by three beetle-like spikes that extended from each shoulder and his back, was covered by a smooth mask with amber-coloured eyeholes. Sarph inhaled.

"So. You must be the Swordmaster of Destruction," Pierce greeted the massive warrior. But he ignored the wizards, and the three took up positions of an honour guard around Entropy.

"Did you kill him?" Entropy quietly asked, eyeing Pierce.

". . who?"

"My creature. The train. Did you kill him?"

"Yeah. What did you expect, sending a monster after us?" Erik demanded, abandoning his pretence of unconsciousness.

"How dare you?" the woman quietly asked, turning her focus to Erik.

"Excuse me?" the Dragon Slayer retorted.

"What gives you the right to take something so precious as a life and destroy it?" Entropy demanded.

"Oh, don't even try!" Everyone turned to see Cal, next to Grace, disdainfully glaring at Entropy. "You think you're such a, a, a paragon of goodness? Your mind-controlled flunkies there might beg to differ!"

Entropy scoffed. "Nino? Thick? Swordmaster? Am I controlling your minds?"

Nino demurely shook her head, and Thick scoffed. "Try again, buster," The Swordmaster was impassive, but behind those emotionless amber eyepieces, something seemed to regard Calvin with irritation.

"Tell me, do the rest of you know who he is?" Entropy suddenly addressed the rest of the group, looking only mildly interested.

"He's our friend!" Grace immediately retorted, to a smug grin from Calvin.

"I see. Pity. Well, it doesn't matter," the witch sighed to herself.

"What, are you going to kill us?" Pierce questioned.

"And reduce myself to your level? Hardly," Entropy sighed again, shaking her head. "Look. I don't know what you've been told . . but I'm not the villain here, and I don't want to be your enemy. That said, I can't exactly have you lot interfering any further, so I'm just going to leave you all here for a couple of days while we finish our business. They won't send anyone else after me as long as you're alive, I'm sure, so it's win-win. Don't worry, if you're all half as tough as I'd expect, you'll survive for a day or two without food or water. I'll send someone by to release you all once everything's over and done with. Enjoy your stay," she declared, turning back towards the exit.

Pierce digested this.

But then the Swordmaster coughed. Entropy paused, and the massive warrior gestured with his chin towards Sarph. "Oh, that's right. You said you thought he could be helpful. Very well. Thick?" In an instant, the bulky man crossed the cave and unbolted Sarph's shackles, ignoring the large knight's struggles and half-dragging him to join them.

"Oi! Let us out right -" Erik started, but Pierce interrupted. "Stop!" He addressed the command to both Entropy and Erik. Erik paused, and Entropy raised an eyebrow.

"You say you're not a villain. So how about you explain exactly why you're here and what you want,"

"And let go of Sarph, too!" Grace instructed. Sarph nodded, but focused on Pierce. The Tamer had the right idea.

Entropy raised both eyebrows in pleasant surprise. "So you can be reasonable. I suppose it couldn't hurt to share my side of the story,"

Pierce grinned, casting a sidelong look at Erik. Being professional really paid off sometimes. But Erik seemed distracted, his head cocked. Was he hearing something?

"I'll assume that you all already know of the Canopy," the self-proclaimed Mother of Mischief started.

As one, the Phoenixes blinked. "Canopy?" Boomer parroted.

". . No. We don't," Pierce shook his head.

"You don't?" Entropy seemed genuinely surprised for the first time. "Ah," A sudden smile graced her lips. "Well,"She pronounced the word with fresh vigour.

"Everybody!" Suddenly, a new voice interrupted again, and the eleven people in the room all looked, surprised, to the nearby cave entrance. Where an immediately recognisable person stood. Draped in white robes and eyes glinting with insanity, Aberforth the Assassin had his rifle out. "Put your hands in the air like you just don't care!"

A moment of silence followed this declaration.

"I assume he's with you?" Entropy addressed Pierce.

"No, we hate that guy," the blond assured her. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded of the Assassin.

Aberforth shrugged. "Beats me. I just go where I'm told,"

"Told? By Yurei?" the Tamer guessed.

The assassin looked blank. "Who?"

Suddenly, he stiffened, and his eyes glowed green. "Please don't challenge his delusions. I've spent a long time making sure he's the perfect vessel. And I see Kitsunetsuki found a loophole," Yurei spat through Aberforth's lips.

"Yurei?!" A more familiar voice echoed through the cave, and, eyeing his flute, Pierce was gratified to see a familiar white shape emerge through the crack. "Pierce, what's . . oh, holy moly," Kit gasped, suddenly taking in the scene.

"Sorry for not getting you, but I'm kind of tied up," Pierce apologised.

"Yurei?" Entropy repeated, staring at Aberforth in shock and what seemed to be approaching fear. "Y-Yurei?"

While they were distracted, Kit crossed the room and was on Pierce's shoulder. "You aren't as clever as you think you are," he growled.

"I don't have to be clever. I just have to win," Suddenly, Aberforth's body convulsed. Fangs erupted from his jaw, and his eyes turned reptilian. Everyone gasped, watching the forcible Yokai Unison overtake the Assassin.

"Now," Yurei hissed. "Tell me where my father is, or I will turn your human friends' blood into acid and let them slowly dissolve into a puddle of their own entrails,"

"Your father?" Pierce asked. "Why would we know where your father is?"

"Pierce, he's not talking to us," Kit whispered, gesturing to Entropy, who looked positively shellshocked. Shudders wracking her body, she raised a hand at arm's length as though trying to push the sight of Aberforth away. "N-no. Stay back,"

Yurei squeezed the trigger. The bullet shot forth, past Mister Thick's arm, and into Entropy's hand . . and passed through her body like she wasn't there, vanishing into the cave wall behind her.

Yurei tched, and the gun vanished into Requip magic. "Oh, that's right. This gun's bullets pass through anything that isn't alive. I suppose that means it's useless against you,"

"I . . you . ." Entropy, for her part, seemed to be too busy having a nervous breakdown to react. Thick took notice. "We've gotta get the boss out of here. Big guy, take this lug," he commanded the Swordmaster, throwing Sarph at him.

"If your reasons were any less pure I would kill you for deigning to give me an order," The Swordmaster lifted Sarph in one hand and cradled Entropy's shaking form with the other, taking them both. "Nino, watch the wizards. Thick, take Yurei down. We'll rendezvous in the Fissure," With that, he took off at a full-tilt run, vanishing in seconds into the other exit to the cave.

"You heard him. Requip!" Thick commanded, pounding his meaty fists together, before materialising the massive spiked weapon that he had used to injure Sarph. "The Mobster!"

"Hey, wait, I'm not here for you," Yurei hissed, baring his fangs, but Thick hit him like a bulldozer, driving him backwards. The struggling men vanished into the cave.

Nino watched them go, before turning to the Phoenixes. "Mistress said to leave you alone . . but the situation's changed . . what would she do?" she mumbled to herself. "Yurei threatens mistress . . Swordmaster protects her . . Thick is capable, but can he beat the Prince? Should I help him?"

"You . . aren't good at making decisions for yourself, are you?" Tyria piped up for the first time, and Nino looked at her. "I just want to help Mistress Entropy . . she's been through so much and she needs me,"

"Could you let us down, then? We want to help our friend too," Pierce gently suggested, but the maid's eyes locked on him and she suddenly looked murderous. "Mistress said you stay here, so you stay here! That's what she'd want me to do! Make sure none of you leave!"

"Ah. Sorry, but that doesn't work for us," Suddenly, Pierce jumped down, the shackles falling away. "Kit let me out while you were distracted. I'm going after my friend. If you try to stop me, then that makes you my enemy,"

Nino looked at him coldly. "So be it. If I've failed, mistress needs to be made aware. Goodbye," She span and sped out of the cave, following the direction that Swordmaster had taken Entropy and Sarph.

The Phoenixes plus Calvin watched her go. "She seems a few sandwiches short," Boomer observed as Pierce and Kit busied themselves removing the chains from their friends.

Once everyone was free, they looked to the team's leader for guidance. But before Pierce could start, the blacksmith spoke up. "They said they're meeting at the Fissure. I know where that is. We can pursue them,"

"Great," Pierce smiled at the new recruit. "But I don't like leaving Yurei and that other guy running around. We need to rescue Sarph, sure, but if we leave them alone they might ambush us,"

"Then we need to split up," Tyria declared.

"The Sonic Boom's back in town, and you know I'm at half strength without it anyway," Boomer agreed. "I can go grab the Sonic Boom, take out those two, and meet you in the Fissure,"

"Not alone you aren't," Pierce nodded assent and considered the group. 'I want to send Erik with Boomer, but that guy and Sound magic are a bad mix. Not Tyria or Grace. But Calvin is still an unknown quantity . . I can't leave Tyria or Grace alone . . but there was no other choice . . Tyria could take care of herself for a bit, right? . . Right? . .' "Tyria, go with him. The rest of us will go after Sarph,"

Erik raised an eyebrow, realising Pierce had forgotten, again, that he was privy to his leader's internal monologue. He was being protective, overprotective even. He needed to talk to Pierce about that.

"Got it," Tyria mock saluted and grinned at her boyfriend, and Pierce responded with a slightly nervous smile, before his two teammates sped away. Before anyone could say anything, Grace moved for the other exit. "Come on!"

"She's got the right idea, we should go," Calvin agreed, following her.

Pierce nodded and made to chase after them, but Erik caught his shoulder - the one that Kit wasn't clinging to. "Hold on. We need to talk,"

The Tamer was surprised, but nodded. "Sure, but let's walk and talk. Sarph's in trouble, we can't just leave him,"

Erik nodded as the two made to catch up with their youngers. "That attitude's what I want to talk to you about,"

". . . Huh?"

"Since the start of this mission, you've been acting weird. You're being overprotective of your friends. Did something happen while I was in jail?"

Pierce paused, and a flash of fear briefly overtook his face. "No, but it could have," he mumbled, before starting to run again.

Erik lightly kept pace and his eyebrow twitched. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah. Talk to us," Kit interjected, looking uncharacteristically serious.

". . I'll tell you later. We have to focus on the mission," the Tamer declared.

"Alright, but this isn't over!" the redhead warned him, before plucking Kit by the ectoplasmic scruff from Pierce's shoulder. "Do you know what's going on with him?"

"Sorry. Not a clue," the yokai admitted.

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, Tyria and Boomer followed the signs of fighting out through the other cave, and were surprised to find themselves on a hill. A cliff face reared up behind them around the cave, the sun shone down, and they had a spectacular view of the Demuri Estate countryside.

Also, Aberforth and Mister Thick were fighting just below them.

Thick had his spiked weapon out and was lunging at Aberforth, who was still in Yokai Unison with Yurei. The man's white cloak billowed around him as he leapt out of the way of a thrust from the spike, and struck at Thick's head with a long wooden staff.

"Should we just let this play out?" Boomer suggested. "Two of our enemies are fighting each other. This is a rare chance to have a free win,"

"No. They look like they're trying to kill each other, and if one of them dies we won't be able to question them," Tyria pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Boomer produced his boombox and aimed it carefully, declaring, "Sonic Blast!" A shockwave of sound raced down the hill and hit both combatants, knocking them off balance. Yurei was thrown into the air, while Thick stumbled and touched his weapon to the ground, using it to support himself.

"Switch!" Tyria half-jokingly declared, charging towards them. "TechType: Tectonics!" Both of her fists swelled into massive metal clubs, and she struck both their assailants with a massive punch. Aberforth went flying and hit a puddle of mud at the bottom of the hill with a splash.

Thick stumbled again, his weapon knocked to the ground, and he steadied himself on the slope, perfectly balanced and aiming the spike at Tyria. "It's rude to interrupt men in the middle of a dispute," he declared. And then the weapon discharged, launching a massive metal spike with a flash of golden magic, striking for Tyria's chest.

The dark-skinned bluenette barely managed to deflect the assault with a metal hand. The spike retracted as she dug her black boots into the soil, steadying herself, and Tyria gazed at the weapon with interest. "Hey. What is that thing? I want one,"

"This is whatcha call a pile bunker," Mister Thick grinned, proudly hefting the massive weapon.

Tyria blinked. "A pile bunker?" She suddenly thought back to the letter she had received during Penny's last interview with the guild. It had questioned if she was going to create a TechType: Pile Bunker. She had thought it referred to becoming an actual building at the time . . oh.

"Yeah. It shoots out a spike on the end of a rope like a cannon. I can punch through anything with this beast," the bulky white man declared.

"Impressive. Is that your only weapon?" Tyria asked.

"It's the only one I need,"

"Great. TechType: Jetpack!" she commanded, releasing her Tectonics and launching into the air. "TechType: Machine Gun II!" And Mister Thick found himself under a hail of bullets. He held up his weapon, using its broad side as a shield. A stray bullet caught his foot, and he screamed, stumbling.

Then a word rang out. "Switch!" The sonic force of the word, amplified by Sound Magic, knocked Mister Thick off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground, where his own weapon fell on him and pinned him.

Tyria landed and reverted. "That was easy," she observed with a smile.

"It's not over yet," Boomer warned, seeing Aberforth staggering towards them.

The Assassin's white cloak was covered in dirt and filth. The green glowing eyes and fangs demonstrated that he was still being directly controlled by Yurei. "Look at what you did!" he roared, gesturing to his coat. "I'm never going to get this clean again!"

Tyria and Boomer stared at him for a second.

Yurei sighed. "I suppose I should expect nothing less from Phoenix's Eye. Now, why are you here, anyway? I'll assume I'm not your target, since that hag and her cronies had you captured before,"

The two Phoenixes exchanged a glance. Keeping their guard up, Tyria answered, "We're on a job. The guy with the big blue armour, you saw before? He's our friend Sarph's old teacher, who turned bad. We're supposed to track him down and bring him to justice. It looks like this is bigger than a swordsman with an axe to grind, though,"

"Wouldn't he be grinding a sword?" Boomer chuckled.

"Oh, ha ha," Tyria rolled her eyes.

"Is that so?" Yurei mused. "Well, I'm here looking for my father. I think Entropy knows where he is,"

"Yokai have fathers?" Boomer asked. "I thought you were just spirits,"

"We're still alive, we can reproduce. Besides, I am the Yokai Prince, son of the Yokai King, the mightiest of all yokai," Yurei declared, looking as dignified as a man with snake teeth covered in mud could look. "The King has been trapped for centuries, and I've been trying to free him. That's the reason that I allowed Aberforth to join Kairos End several years ago, to be honest. I hoped having access to their resources would give me some leads. I didn't get anywhere, though,"

"Wait, why should we believe anything you say? You tried to kill Sarph, and Masquerade!" Tyria hotly protested.

"Actually, that was Aberforth. He's a loose cannon, to say the least. I try to keep him in check," Yurei sighed, looking tired. "Besides. They both survived. Did you wonder why that is?"

Tyria blinked. "Wait, are you saying . ."

"Say what you want about this psychopath, but he's a very good shot. If I hadn't clouded his judgement on where to aim on those occasions, the consequences would have been a lot more lethal, I assure you," Yurei looked grave.

"Why are you telling us all this, anyway?" Boomer suspiciously asked. "You don't seriously think we're going to team up or something,"

"Actually, that's exactly what I'm hoping for," Yurei freely admitted, raising his hands. "I know this area and I know our enemies. You don't. You need me,"

Tyria frowned and exchanged a glance with Boomer.

"There is an extra seat in the Sonic Boom," he pointed out. "Besides, I think either of us could take him out if he betrays us. We might as well give him a chance, especially if he's telling the truth,"

Tyria mulled this over for a second, and nodded. "Alright, fine. We'll let you tag along. Don't make us regret it, though,"

A smile made his fangs twitch. "Thank you. But before we catch up with your guild in the Fissure, we should take your car and go pick up a friend of mine," the prince declared, and was about to continue.

But Boomer interrupted with a surprised question. "You have friends?"

Yurei nodded, glaring. "Trust me, I think you'll very much want to meet him,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Oh, thank goodness! I'm away from home and the wifi is absolute garbage, if you're reading this it means I finally managed to get a good enough connection to post. I'll be back home next weekend, but in the meantime . . damn cheap hotel internet . .**

 **As for the chapter, nothing much to say this time around. I guess not all Author's Notes can be winners. Peace!**

-[CoT]-

Boomer looked at the Sonic Boom's upholstery. He then looked at Aberforth's filthy white cloak, still dripping with mud. "No. No no no definitely not. That cloak is not getting into my car,"

Yurei eyed him for a second, and sighed. "Fine. I was going to have to replace it anyway," With a flourish, he let the stained fabric fall to the ground, revealing, for the first time, Aberforth's full body.

Aberforth was tall, with bowl-cut blond hair and a thick beard. He wore a green chainmail vest over his brown undershirt, and grey trousers. His eyes still glinted green, and fangs protruded from his mouth.

Tyria groaned, thinking to herself, Damnit, he's hot.


	52. Shared Strength

Chapter 122: Shared Strength

"They escaped," Nino reported, easily keeping pace with the Swordmaster of Destruction. This was likely to be because the Swordmaster was still carrying Entropy, who was apparently unconscious, and a struggling Sarph.

"Unfortunate," the massive blue warrior rumbled in his dehydrated voice. "Slow them down. If I make it to the Fissure first, I can ambush them,"

Nino nodded and kept pace until they reached a large cave, where the route split. The Swordmaster took the right fork, and Nino span, watching the entrance. The four wizards would be only minutes behind.

With a flick of her wrist and a flashing grey magic circle, she threw a wire of steel fibre across the room, before slinging the other end to the far wall so that it formed a tightrope. A second wire joined the first, stretched perpendicularly across the cave. Nino threw more wires in every direction, crisscrossing the cave like a spiderweb, each so thin that they could barely be seen.

Balanced on the central strings like a spider, Nino watched the entrance and waited, barely even breathing.

She would protect her mistress. Even if it cost her life.

It was only a couple of minutes before the four wizards in pursuit caught up. Having been warned by Erik, who had heard Nino breathing, the group paused at the threshold of the cave, locking eyes with the woman who seemed to be standing on thin air. Not knowing what to look for, the millimetre-thick wires she had filled the room with were invisible to their eyes.

"So are you going to fight us this time?" Calvin seemed annoyed.

"Maybe," Nino noncommittally replied.

"Rush her," Erik growled. Calvin and Kit nodded, and Grace bobbed her head. "Wha - wait!" Pierce protested, but Erik and Calvin charged, Grace following, and Pierce pursued with arms outstretched. Kit, though, hung back, eyeing Nino suspiciously. "There's something familiar about her," he observed.

Nino raised her hand, and suddenly all four wizards were pulled by an invisible force to the nearby walls. Erik and Pierce to the left, and Grace and Calvin to the right.

"What the hell?" Erik demanded, finding his arms pinned.

"What is this?" Calvin echoed.

"My trap. Now just stay there and no one has to get hurt," Nino eyed them warily.

Grace squinted. "There's little . . wires or something. They're almost invisible,"

"You're tying us up? Again? Really?" the brown-haired blacksmith demanded. "I'd fold my arms if I could move them!"

"Poison Dragon's . . wait, no, I'd hit myself," Erik realised. The wires were less than a millimetre thick but felt as strong as diamond.

"You won't interfere in my mistress' plans," Nino declared, scrutinising them.

"Kit? Help?" Pierce suggested, but the Yokai was already analysing the magic bindings. "There's no knots or locks. I can't get you out,"

Grace was too busy focusing; she had to perfectly isolate the space that her body was occupying and use her spatial magic. And suddenly, she rippled and vanished from the restraints.

Nino started, looking at the empty space. "Huh?" she eloquently questioned.

"Reality Dragon's Roar!" Grace started, launching herself from the roof of the cave wall and preparing an attack - but her chest caught something invisible in mid-air, which she bounced off, sending her attack wide. Nino smiled as Grace screamed, feeling a line of pain blossom across her chest, and, spinning her arms, she bent gravity and caught herself in mid-air. Grace suddenly bit her lip, feeling blood in her hand, and saw a gash of red across her palm.

"This entire cave is full of my wires," Nino shook her head. "You could call me a spider, and your friends are bugs caught in my web. Do you really think you can fight me in my territory? Your Spatial Magic won't help you,"

Grace scanned her surroundings. The wires were all but invisible. She could see faint, intermittent twinkles of light, but picking out the shapes would be impossible. And, with all these invisible dangers, so was jumping through space within the cave like she normally would. She looked at the bloody scratches on her chest and hand, still hanging in midair. They didn't hurt much, but she was losing blood. Too many cuts from touching those wires and eventually she'd pass out from blood loss.

There was a flash of light, and Grace suddenly jerked sideways, barely dodging a metal spike that came out of nowhere. Nino snorted, wielding a metal spike on the end of a wire. "Good reflexes," the maid observed, retracting her weapon and darting through the air, effortlessly weaving through her spiderweb of deadly wires. Grace grimaced and took aim. "Reality Dragon's Roar!"

The blast passed around the wires, not damaging them but not being stopped by then, and caught Nino's flank, sending her flying - until she caught an invisible wire, swung around it like a trapeze performer and went flying upwards, where, once again, she cast the metal spike at Grace. The Dragon Slayer barely registered it as a flash of light, and then she was stabbed in the shoulder. It was only a few centimetres off being a fatal blow. Nino tugged her wire, and the spike came rushing back, Grace's blood forming a trail in the air. Stunned by the pain, Grace lost her levitation and crashed to the ground, bouncing off wires and taking fresh lacerations to her arms and legs before hitting the ground in a heap.

Pierce gritted his teeth, watching Grace fight. "She needs help," Wirh a violent motion, he struggled furiously against the bonds. The razor-sharp wires cut into his skin, leaving red lines, but he ignored the pain.

Erik, however, couldn't ignore what his friend was doing to himself. "Pierce! Just, stop, okay?" he demanded.

"I can't stop!" Pierce shouted at him. "I have to protect her, I - I can't fail!"

"Grace can take care of herself," Erik assured him.

"No, she couldn't!" Pierce was working himself into a frenzy of protectiveness and fury. "She was dead! We were all dead! We were dead and it was my fault and I have to be better so that won't happen again!" Suddenly, there was a wash of heat from Pierce's hand. The two men's eyes swivelled downwards to Pierce's guild mark. His hand was swarthed in blue flames.

"This again, huh?" Pierce recalled a few weeks ago, when this same unknown power had helped him to defeat Asakura in the Grand Magic Games. It had let him combine Take Overs. Squinting, he noticed that the cords weren't burning. They were metal, they had to be fireproof . .

Pierce quickly ran through his Take Overs. None of them would get him out of this situation alone. But maybe together . . "Take Over! Pokemon Soul!" he commanded, his body forming into white and grey metal. "Take Over! Stygimoloch Soul!" The power of his dinosaur friend coursed through his body, the metal becoming hard and knobbly, horns emerging around his head and his skull thickening.

And he slammed his doubly reinforced head into the wall, leaving a dent.

Erik watched in morbid fascination as Pierce beat against the wall, again and again, realising suddenly that he was trying to loosen the wires. If he couldn't cut through them, he could give himself room and make them loose enough to climb out.

But Nino wasn't having any of it. "No," she commanded, flicking her wrist, and the wires tightened once again, pinning Pierce once more.

"No! No!" Pierce roared, his anger and frustration starting to overwhelm him.

"Give up!" Nino shouted over him. "You won't escape! I'll hold you here for as long as I have to. You won't harm my mistress!"

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY BROTHER!" And suddenly a flaming blue uppercut struck Nino's cheek, sending her flying upwards and into her own web, where she narrowly caught herself.

"Oh, no way," Calvin gasped. "What the heck?" Erik agreed.

Grace stood with her left arm raised and a fierce scowl that exposed her fangs. She had shifted into her Dragon Force form, with semicircular horns that joined at the tips emerging through her hair, which paled to a shade of very light grey, a short, scaled tail that ended in a blade with a wicked curve, and her left arm was coated in the scales and claws of a dragon. But the same blue flame that covered her brother had engulfed her like a second skin, washing out of her eyes and cloaking her left arm like a gauntlet.

"What? But - the wires!" Nino protested. Grace had been on the far side of the cave, there should have been a dozen wires separating them.

The flaming Dragon Slayer spat a chunk of dissipating ethernano out from her fangs. "You can't cut through a dragon's scales," she hissed. "Your wires aren't that sharp,"

Nino growled and flicked her wrist, and suddenly the metal spike was back, dancing on the end of a wire towards Grace. "You've left yourself vulnerable, then!" she roared in response.

With a wave, the greenette caught the projectile in a shimmer of bent space, sending it flying in a different direction. Nino grimaced, twisting her wrist, and the projectile bent back around and targeted Grace again. She spun, opening a second rift, which the spike flew into again and was suddenly lancing towards the point between the maid's eyes.

Nino fumed and redirected the projectile again, but Grace was done. "Enough!" she snapped and closed her fists, closing her bends in space and ripping the wires apart. No longer connected to its owner, the spike sunk to the ground.

Nino screamed, the sudden feedback temporarily stunning her. Grace bared her fangs in a smile, knowing this was her chance. "Reality Dragon's Transdimensional Flaming Gatling!" she roared, opening a dozen rifts simultaneously and enveloping her enemy in a flurry of burning punches from every direction.

Crying out, Nino fell to the ground as, all around them, the wires in the room vanished into flashes of ethernano. Breathing heavily, Grace grinned.

"Are you alright?" Pierce immediately demanded, shrinking back into his normal form and making for Grace, then pausing, realising she was still engulfed in mysterious flame.

"Hold on. It's not over," the greyette warned him, striding forwards. Nino had hit the ground in a kneeling slump, her hair fallen over her face, obscuring her expression. One hand was rigidly supporting her, the other was splayed and useless.

"Do you surrender?" Grace asked, walking closer and leaving fiery blue footprints.

Suddenly the metal spike flew across the floor and into Nino's open hand, and, as though she were a machine that had been turned back on, the maid looked up with an unearthly light in her eyes and lunged, wielding the spike in her suddenly-functional right hand, aiming to drive it into Grace's heart.

With her scaly left hand, Grace caught the blow. The point of the spike hit the armour on her palm, and the blue fire roared, scorching Nino's hand. For a second they struggled, and the fire coating the rest of Grace's body died down, coalescing in her hand. "That's enough!" she roared, throwing the energy outwards in a massive fireball that threw Nino against the far wall, leaving flickering blue embers on the rock around her.

Gritting her teeth and struggling against her own magic, Grace suddenly exhaled, her horns, scales and tail vanishing into the ethernano.

Instantly, Pierce swooped in and caught her, Erik only a second behind. "Are you alright?" the Tamer asked. "That was incredible," the other Dragon commended her.

"I'm fine," Grace pushed them both away, looking dazed but standing on her own feet.

"How did you do that?" Calvin asked. "With the fire? Both of you?"

"I don't really know," Pierce admitted. "That's only the second time for me, it seems to happen when I get really worked up about something. Was that your first time?" he asked Grace.

"Yeah . . it was awesome, though," the greenette grinned.

"It sure was," Erik nodded his approval.

The four of them briefly regarded Nino. "I don't think she's getting up any time soon," the blacksmith offered.

"No reason to hang around, then. Are you good to keep going?" Pierce asked Grace, gesturing to the two possible exits.

"Sure, but which way did they -" Grace didn't even finish her sentence before Erik gestured to the right-hand fork. "That way. I hear voices,"

His sister briefly exposed her fangs in a smile. "Then what are we waiting for?"

But, as they left, Kit paused and sniffed Nino. "Something's still bugging me about all this," he admitted to the group. "It's like the answer's right there, and I'm just missing one little piece,"

"Keep thinking," Pierce assured him. "It'll come to you,"

-[CoT]-

The Phoenixes finally emerged into another cavern, this one far more vast. Indeed, it was more like a massive underground ravine, completely closed off to sunlight, than a mere cave.

They immediately noticed a few things; first of all, green light permeated the fissure. The source of this was a lightning-shaped gash in the wall of the cave some metres away and on the far side, glowing with green magic. Nearby it was some kind of apparatus, seeming reminiscent of a magical cannon but full of glass panes and mirrors. In the corner, Sarph and Entropy were both unconscious, the former bound. Entropy was softly snoring.

And in the centre of the cave, facing them, was a massive humanoid figure, clad in blue armour. He stared down at the four wizards, menace in his orange eyepieces.

"I guess we're fighting him now," Pierce drew to a halt, Erik, Grace and Calvin flanking him. "The Swordmaster of Destruction, huh?" Erik smiled. "I don't know about this," Calvin sounded concerned, and seemed to be trying to hide his fear. Kit jumped onto Pierce's shoulder. "Yokai Unison, say when,"

Something in the Swordmaster's stance shifted. "He's planning something!" Erik shouted, hearing the thoughts of the Swordmaster of Destruction. "Conqueror's Haki? What's -"

And, suddenly, there was a sensation like a million lions roaring all at once. Overwhelming waves of sheer power assailed their senses, the Swordmaster barely moving and yet somehow oppressing their very beings so fiercely that it was all they could do to remain standing. The sheer force threw Kit's ectoplasm off Pierce's shoulder, sending him flying into the wall behind them. Erik was the first to succumb, his remaining eye sliding shut, and he hit the ground with a thump. Grace started, seeing her brother collapse, and her willpower evaporated, sending her collapsing nearby, similarly unconscious. Calvin slumped a moment later, eyes fluttering shut.

'What the hell is this power?' Pierce silently, fruitlessly questioned, gritting his teeth and struggling with all his being to stay on his feet. 'It's not magic. I've never felt anything like it!'

Heavy footsteps interrupted his train of thought, and with an immense force of willpower, he raised his head against the intangible wind. The Swordmaster of Destruction was striding towards him, raising a fist. Normally, Pierce would dodge, but struggling against this . . Conqueror's Haki, whatever that meant, it was all he could do not to fall unconscious on the spot. Moving was out of the question.

For a moment, the futility of the situation overwhelmed him. The Swordmaster of Destruction. What an unassailable foe. He was nothing like anything they'd ever faced. They'd at least been able to attack Eternity, during the fight against Kairos End. But whatever kind of magic, or whatever this power was, that the Swordmaster was wielding against them, he was untouchable.

And that fact hurt even more than the blow to his head that sent him to join his friends in unconsciousness.

-[CoT]-

The Sonic Boom pulled up outside a ramshackle building on the outskirts of Stormhearth, a small town not far from Demuri Estate.

"So, we're here to meet your friend?" Boomer checked.

"Yeah. I think you'll be very interested to meet him," Yurei assured him, climbing out of the three-wheeler and making for the house.

Tyria and Boomer followed, finding the Yokai-possessed Assassin banging on the door of the building, which they now realised seemed to be some sort of blacksmithery. "Hey! It's me, open up!"

There was a thunk, as though something heavy had been moved away from the door, and the wood swung away to reveal a scruffy boy with black hair, wearing a brown jacket and tan shorts. He had a sword in his hand and was holding it in a guarded position, watching the three of them carefully.

"There's no need for that," Yurei declared, and the boy relaxed a little, recognising Yurei.

"Who are you?" Tyria asked, regarding the young boy inquisitively.

"The name's Calvin Jones. But my friends call me Cal. What's it to you?"

A/N

A/N

Gasp! A second Calvin! Calvin, why didn't you tell us you had a twin with the same name as you?

. . Oh, is that not the case? Whoops. Now, Cal has black hair, whereas the Calvin we've known since Chapter 119 has brown hair. Henceforth, they shall be referred to as Black Cal and Brown Calvin respectively.

Wait, is that not what we're doing? No? Well, crap. I'll just shut up now, since I obviously have no idea what's going on.

Also, it has been brought to my attention that Pierce has not had a lot of character development over the most recent couple of arcs. This issue has now been rectified. The patch notes are in the developer's log. Peace!


	53. The Rise And Fall Of The Yokai King

Chapter 123: The Rise And Fall Of The Yokai King

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _"So, we're here to meet your friend?" Boomer checked._

 _"Yes. I think you'll be very interested to meet him," Yurei assured him. Tyria and Boomer followed, finding the Yokai-possessed Assassin banging on the door of the building. "Hey! It's me, open up!"_

 _There was a thunk and the wood swung away to reveal a scruffy boy with black hair, wearing a brown jacket and tan shorts. He had a sword in his hand and was holding it in a guarded position, watching the three of them carefully._

 _"Who are you?" Tyria asked, regarding the young boy inquisitively._

 _"The name's Calvin Jones. But my friends call me Cal. What's it to you?"_

 _-[CoT]-_

One month earlier . .

It had been a bit over a month since his mentor and guardian, the enigmatic warrior known only as the Swordmaster, had vanished without a trace. But Calvin Jones wasn't worried. Swordmaster was the strongest man he'd ever met, probably one of the best swordsmen in the world. If anything, Cal was more worried about anyone the Swordmaster faced than the man himself. And Cal could, after all, take care of himself.

A knock came on the door, shortly after lunch. Cal glanced at the front door, when led directly into the living room, and called, "It's open!"

The door swung open, and suddenly a harsh wind kicked up. The boy flinched, but it was only the first warning of things to come, as the light streaming in through the windows turned red. There was a rushing noise, like a waterfall, and red smoke billowed in through the door.

A shadowy form strode into his house. Red and pink flares of magic power swarmed around the newcomer's smoky, ethereal body. Every step kicked up kicked up ambient magic from the ground, leaving white trails behind its feet that were rapidly absorbed by its aura and turned red. Cal could feel it sucking in ethernano from the world like a black hole.

And then a face emerged from the humanoid red cloud of magic. It seemed to be made of burned red metal, with dancing ethernano playing across it. Two carved, unblinking eyes with slotted pupils fixed on him as the creature dragged itself across the room with menacing purpose.

"What are you?" Cal snatched up his sword and levelled it at the creature. "What do you want?"

"Subject l0cated. 1n1t1at1ng fluctl1ght dupl1cat10n," the creature droned, and red lights shot from its eyes and flashed over Cal's body.

And then the smoke shifted colours, and compressed, turning into skin and shrinking to a build that perfectly mirrored the thirteen-year-old. Cal's jaw hung open as the creature shifted and reworked itself, until he was staring at his own living mirror image.

The creature looked his new body over. "Fascinating. I've never been this young before,"

"What the hell is going on?!" Cal demanded.

His double's eyes raised, and fixed on the human. "And now to dispose of the original," Suddenly, the same red magical mist swarmed around his hands, and he raised them, spraying the magic towards Cal's feet.

"Dispose?" Cal echoed, watching the red mist start to pool around his feet.

"Be grateful, human. Your demise will further the goal of the TFEI," Red Cal droned.

So Cal did the first thing that came to mind. The only thing he could think of that had any chance whatsoever of affecting whatever was going on. "Mimic!" A white magic circle flashed around his hands, and he focused it on the red mist that was enveloping him.

His duplicate's face changed. "What?"

And suddenly the red mist was on his hands too, as though his hands were encased in cotton candy. It hissed and shivered, sending electrical darkness running through his body, but it obeyed Cal's probing thoughts. It was like a magical extension of his will.

Get me out of here, Cal told it.

Get me 0ut 0f here, it responded.

And suddenly he was rocketing upwards, propelled by his hands, breaking straight through the ceiling and flying upwards. His doppelgänger watched in shock as he vanished, screaming.

Cal went soaring through the sky in a sprawling mess, flying over the town. Frantically, he dismissed the Mimic and the red stuff vanished from his body.

He landed on the spread awning of a cafe in town, bounced off it, and hit the ground in a heap.

-[CoT]-

"I rounded up a couple of friends and went back to take it on for real afterwards. But by the time I got home again, it was gone," Cal explained. He, Yurei (still in Aberforth's body), Tyria and Boomer were seated around Cal's living room. Looking up, Tyria saw a shabby patch in the ceiling, confirming the story.

"A little while later, I came here looking for the Swordmaster of Destruction. I've been on Entropy's trail for months, watching her and hoping that she'd lead me to my father," Yurei explained.

"Who's your father?" Boomer asked.

Yurei shot him a half-lidded glare. "I'm the Prince of Yokais. Did Kitsunetsuki not tell you that? Who do you think my father is?"

"Who's 'Kitsunet-whatever?"

The snake sighed. "The King. My father is the Yokai King. The most powerful of all yokai,"

"So his name is Kitsu-whatsit?"

"No - Kitsunetsuki is the white fox yokai that you know. I hear you call him Kit. Though I don't know why he allows that. If you must know, the name of my father, the King, is Long,"

"How long?" Boomer raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" Yurei looked at him incredulously.

"How long is his name? Ten syllables?" the Sound wizard guessed.

"Don't be daft, it's only one syllable,"

"Sounds pretty short to me," Boomer shrugged.

At this, Tyria and Cal could no longer hold in their laughter, and both burst out in fits of giggles. "Boomer. The Yokai King is named Long. L-O-N-G. That's his name," Tyria finally clarified.

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just say so?" Boomer questioned.

Yurei just groaned. "I need to see him again, so that I can apologise for what I did when we last saw each other. But that's not your problem or anything. What Cal met, and the 'Cal' that you two have known for the past couple of days, is a creature called a TFEI. An artificial, immortal being made of magic that can mimic being human. They work in service to an organisation called the Sky Canopy Dominion, and . . well, I guess I should start at the beginning,"

-[CoT]-

When Pierce came to, he found Entropy up and about. He, Erik, Cal and Grace had all been bound, Grace and Cal with Vengestone cuffs to cancel their magic. Kit was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, good, you're awake. I was rather hoping we could continue our earlier conversation?" Entropy directly addressed him.

"Well, aren't you popular?" Sarph was awake too, it seemed. His gaze was fixated solely on the Swordmaster of Destruction.

Pierce nodded, remembering what Entropy had said before. She wasn't a villain. Or at least didn't see herself as one, and she'd been perfectly willing to explain her position before Aberforth and Yurei showed up. "That sounds fine to me. I have to admit, you aren't behaving like a good guy. Mind-controlling people, stealing and killing to further your plans, it's . . not exactly hero behaviour,"

Entropy blinked. "Killing? Did someone die?" She looked genuinely concerned at this, which startled Pierce.

"The old man up there murdered about thirty people when he stole the Blind Sun from that museum a couple of weeks ago," Sarph growled.

Entropy looked annoyed. "So that's why you're all here, is it?" She turned and glared at the Swordmaster, adopting a tone like a disappointed mother. "I told you, no killing! We are going to talk about this later,"

Pierce was stunned into silence by thus, and the older woman sighed and shook her head, looking back at him and Sarph. "I really am sorry about that. I swear, I never meant for anyone to die,"

"What do you want?" Sarph pressed.

"I want to be reunited with my husband," the greenette immediately responded.

Both Phoenixes paused. " . . Explain," Pierce demanded. So Entropy wasn't trying to end the world or take over the country? Seeing her husband again seemed completely reasonable.

"I'll start at the beginning, then," Entropy nodded to herself. "Please, keep all questions to the end?" Once Pierce and Sarph had nodded to this, she began. "I was never supposed to know all those things most people do. Parents, a family, friends . . love. No, I was born for one purpose; to be a cog in a machine,"

-[CoT]-

Indeed, the first thing Entropy ever remembered was waking up, fully grown and fully formed, to an alien face staring at her.

"Was the experiment successful?" the creature asked, staring at her with tiny, close-set eyes, a squashed, triangular nose, lips like a sinkhole leading into a dark and dismal abyss.

Distressingly, the creature - who she would later learn was called a human - seemed to be addressing her. "I repeat, was the experiment successful?"

"What are you -" She started at the words coming out of her mouth.

"Recite your individual code?" the thing asked.

"Code? What are you talking about?"

The monster looked disappointed. "You have no data? No knowledge?"

"I-I don't think so . ." she whimpered.

"Unfortunate," the thing grumbled. "But we prepared for this," He reached out and raised a retractable metal rod from the metal slab that she was lying on, before reaching over and unfastening the shackle around her waist. It was only now that the woman who would come to be known as Entropy realised that she was bound. Or, indeed, that she had limbs. Concerningly, it seemed that she was a thing not dissimilar to the creature interfering with her, as he fastened her left hand to the pillar.

Then the horizontal bed rotated and raised until she was upright. She was taller than her apparent captor, she realised, but that didn't stop him from wheeling her like a cart, arm still outstretched, through a large door and into a more massive room. The room in question was full of what looked like inert, humanoid figures, each seeming to be made of thick, grey dust, with a range of features, sizes, proportions and shades of grey. The common element was that they all had metal masks for faces.

Entropy was bound so tightly that she was unable to move, so she could not resist as she was wheeled towards the closest of the unliving creatures.

Her outstretched palm pressed against its flesh, and Entropy was aware of the feeling of something transferring from herself to the thing.

The monster exploded into life, the grey matter bursting into flame and exploding outwards into a humanoid maelstrom of red magic. It opened its eyes in the metal mask, breathing in sharply.

And then the thing who had been attending to her suddenly forgot all about her, instead attending to the newly awakened being. "Recite your individual code?" it commanded.

"TFEI/R-0001," it immediately responded.

"Excellent," the first thing nodded.

"Who are you? What's going on?" the wretch who would soon call herself Entropy questioned.

"Silence, errant," the first creature commanded, kicking her tray away. She slammed into the wall, sending tremors through her body and giving her her first experience of pain.

"Errant?" The newly awakened thing, TFEI/R-0001, questioned.

"You understand the designation?" the man sharply asked.

"Of course. But I am curious as to why she merits it,"

"The Perpetual Data Emission experiment was partially successful. It is functional, but lost its fluctlight in the process. It is flawed. We currently possess insufficient Data Material to try again, so it will serve. But it is erroneous. It is classified an errant," At the first monster's words, TFEI/R-0001's face hardened, no longer bearing even the slightest twinge of sympathy. "Understood,"

"Report to Clockwork for briefing," the thing commanded and TFEI/R-0001 nodded, striding towards the door. And then Errant - for that was the only name she knew at the time - 's apparent captor took up her trolley again, and wheeled her to the next unliving creature, who gasped to life at her touch.

"Recite your individual code?"

"TFEI/R-0002,"

The process went on for Errant couldn't say how long, only that she was exhausted by the end of it. Every time she awakened a TFEI, she felt more of her strength leave her, until she honestly wished to simply cease to exist, she felt so empty. But her protests went unheard, for she was Errant, and her voice did not matter.

And after the final TFEI, TFEI/R-0296, was awakened, Errant's arm was released. Her first desire was to strike her captor, but she was too weak and could hardly move her body. She offered no resistance as her hand was fastened back to her side, and her trolley, with her still bound to it, was stored in a closet and left alone.

After a while, her strength returned, but Errant was aware of a lingering emptiness within her chest. It was a feeling she had had since awakening, but only now did she become fully aware of it. There was something fundamentally flawed about her, something empty, something . . errant.

Writhing in her bonds, Errant soon discovered that trying to escape was pointless. So she sighed, trying to relax and pressing her palms to the flat metal slab.

But then the table shifted. It writhed, the metal bending and buckling, and bent forwards, returning her to horizontal. Suddenly, the clamps released themselves, twisting and bending - and, with a violent motion, the table threw her off it. Errant crashed through the door and fell into the corridor adjoining her closet. As she stumbled to her feet, knowing to mimic the posture of the human, she caught a glimpse of the table. Its seams had burst and grown metal teeth, its base had split into legs, and the clamps on what was now its back were twitching and shaking like claws. The living table growled and sniffed at her inquisitively.

Using the table, which seemed to be friendly to her, as a support, Errant got to her feet. "Did . . I make you?" she whispered.

The table looked questioning, but after a second, slowly nodded.

"I . . how can this be?" Errant questioned, before recalling the TFEI. Her touch brought them to life . . she could make things come alive by touching them . . anything she touched came to life. That was . . she didn't know what to make of that.

She patted the attentive table inquisitively, and found there was . . a film, of sorts, on its skin. Curiously, she tried to grab at it, and peel it off. The table shivered, and some strange sort of tangible green mist came away with her fingers. "What in the world . ." The table grew still, and the green mist coalesced, wrapping around her arm. A pair of red eyes emerged as the mist reached out a tentacle . . no, a head.

"Mistress?" the mist creature whispered.

Errant squeaked. "What are you?"

"I . . don't know. What do you want me to be?" the coiling being questioned, looking itself over as it wrapped around her arm.

"I don't know. I don't know anything . ." Errant trained off. She had no idea what this was, or what it could be . . or anything, really.

"That sounds like it's a problem," the being pointed out. "Shall we fix it?"

"I suppose we ought to, yes," Entropy agreed. "And . . I think that starts with us leaving this place,"

"Makes sense," the being who was her first friend agreed, nodding its smokey head.

So Errant, along with her new friend, left the table and the closer behind and started walking. They passed through the room where all the unliving TFEI had been, and followed the route that Errant remembered them taking.

And then she found herself in a large room, at the back of a crowd of red mist creatures. These were the TFEI. And the man who had wheeled her around to animate them was at the forefront of the crowd, talking. "As TFEI agents in service to the Sky Canopy Dominion, you will be expected to engage . . the errant?" he trailed off, frowning and noticing Entropy's presence.

Two hundred and ninety-six metal masks turned to look at Errant. "Um . . hi," she offered.

"Subdue it!" the leader commanded. His army rose to their feet, eyeing her with lethal intent.

Errant blanched, taking an involuntary step back. What was she going to do . . what were they going to do to her . . she couldn't go back to the closet!

She wouldn't go back to the closet.

"Stop!" Her voice rang out, and she raised an arm, letting her palm rest a centimetre away from the smooth wall of the doorframe. The TFEI, naturally following orders, stopped. And the man at their head froze, instantly reading her intent. "Anything I touch comes to life, yes? What do you think would happen if I turned this entire building into a living creature?"

The man, who she now realised had become her enemy, only thought for a second before making his decision.

"Kill it!" her Enemy commanded.

The TFEI lunged.

Errant's skin made contact with the concrete.

The building shook, and a dull roar echoed through the structure, before a sudden door shot down, shielding Errant from the Enemy.

"Mistress," a massive, booming voice echoed through the entire building.

"Impossible," the Enemy whispered from the other room.

"Get me out of here!" Errant commanded, panicked, and the lights in her corridor turned orange. "Follow me," the massive, booming voice commanded, and Entropy ran down the corridor. Emerging back into the massive rooms, she saw a door she had not entered before with orange lights beyond it. "Keep going, mistress!" the green creature on her arm encouraged, and Errant nodded, charging through the door. And she went, following a path of orange lights for what seemed like hours even though it was only a few minutes, until suddenly the light outside a door was warm and golden and there was no other way to go and she couldn't slow down so she just pushed through and suddenly . . .

There were green, soft things under her feet, which she would later know to call grass. Errant stopped, staring up into the endless blue expanse high above, which she would learn was called a sky. She turned and saw that she had just exited a massive white building, and the ground sloped away before her, leading down to a couple of dozen smaller buildings below.

"Goodbye, mistress," the massive building behind her rumbled through the door.

Errant turned and looked up at the massive building that she had brought to life. "No. You're coming with me," she declared, pressing a hand to the wall and feeling, just as she had expected, a thin film of magic covering its surface. She gripped it, gathering it in both hands, and then ran down the hill, towards the distant buildings, pulling the magic with her like a stretchy strand of taffy. "Come . . on!" she growled, reaching the bottom and pulling even harder on the rope of orange energy

And, with a strange, sticky sound, the energised mist left the building, collecting and pulling itself together. Short hands that ended in large claws manifested, as the clump that was becoming the metaphysical head split into a mouth and grew teeth, red dots for eyes, and a long, black stripe along its back emerged from the orange form. The massive, long, serpentine being took full form as what some might recognise as a Chinese dragon, and towered over Errant and her misty companion, smiling down at them.

"That's awesome," the creature on her arm hissed, sounding focused, and it suddenly seemed to look more solid, growing green scales and shaping itself into a long, twisting body.

"We're not safe yet," the massive creature declared, lunging forward and picking them both up in a massive claw, before lunging into the air. Errant gasped, clinging to the semi-intangible being with a death grip, as they took off into the sky, flying at incredible speed away from the building they had left.

All the while, Errant ingrained into her mind the thought of what they had escaped. TFEI, the Canopy. Her Enemy.

-[CoT]-

They flew for days. Across plains and oceans, over mountains and valleys. As time passed, both of her companions became more solid and defined; the small green one coalescing into an emerald-green snake, while the massive orange one became what would later be called an oriental dragon.

Eventually, they landed in a crevice between mountains. "I can sense that there are caves here. It will be a good place to hide," the orange creature suggested. "There is a settlement nearby,"

Errant nodded wordlessly.

"Mistress?" the green suggested. "Might I suggest something?" Both the others looked at the small being, and he continued. "If we are to live, then we ought to have names,"

"Names, yes. I have heard the humans using such things below us," the largest agreed.

"I suppose my name would be Errant, then," the woman mumbled.

"You don't like that, though," the larger observed.

"No," Errant admitted.

"Then we will search for a new name together. I believe that I would like to be called . . Long," the orange dragon declared.

Errant nodded. "And you, little one?"

The snake looked thoughtful. "I . . I think I like the sound of . . Yurei,"

-[CoT]-

"Wait, you're where yokais come from?" Pierce burst out in shock. He knew that yokais could reproduce - Kit had occasionally mentioned long-lost parents - but he had somehow never thought to ask how the species had begun.

Entropy nodded, looking stiff. Just saying Yurei's name had sent shivers through her body. "Indeed. I told you, some like to call me the Mother of Mischief. It's quite a literal name,"

-[CoT]-

"You were the first yokai?" Tyria exclaimed, looking at Yurei in surprise.

"I'm more than a thousand years old," Yurei pointed out with a retributory tone.

"Then shouldn't you be the King?" Boomer asked.

"Maybe I should. But it's an empty title; even if I am a few minutes older, my father is much more powerful. Frankly, he deserves it,"

-[CoT]-

So the three refugees settled into the caves under the mountains. It was like a natural mansion, far too vast for the three of them. It wasn't long before Long, Errant and Yurei considered one another akin to family. Errant and Long became Yurei's mother and father. Yurei became Long's son. And Errant realised that she had fallen in love with Long's gentle caress.

In the cold world of the Enemy, he was reliable. He loved her and took care of her. He was her husband, and he made her happy.

Furthermore, other than Yurei and Long, nothing else that Entropy touched had come to life, be it fruits fallen from trees or stones underfoot. Perhaps her power had evaporated when she left the place of the Enemy?

They cold not, however, ignore the outside world. Yurei had a thirst for knowledge, and Errant soon felt hunger. Inquiries into the nearby village indicated that humans used money to pay for food and other commodities, of which Entropy and her family had none.

Yurei, however, also proved to be an adept thief. "I've got fruits, bread, and a couple of these 'books'. I wonder how you use them?" he questioned, the green smoke of his magic wafting from his serpentine body and lifting the cover of the book.

Errant quickly started eating, while the massive form of Long regarded them inquisitively. "It can't be that hard,"

"A History of Ishgar," Errant read, and both Yokai looked at her in surprise. "You can decipher these human symbols?" Long questioned.

"A-apparently," Errant shrugged helplessly, reaching out and taking the book. But the moment her fingers grazed the leather cover, a spark fled from her being and infused the book. She let out a soft gasp, and the book fluttered to life, an invisible aura surrounding it.

Immediately realising what had happened, Errant punched the film of magic between her fingers and ripped the new life free of the book. "Oh dear," she observed, holding a newborn yokai between her fingers; a tawny, tan-coloured plume of magic that was rapidly shaping itself into an owl.

"Huh?" Yurei was shocked, but Long was more pensive. "Another creature? Fascinating,"

"Who are you all?" the owl asked.

Over years of trial and error, the rapidly-growing family discovered that Errant's abilities would not animate anything natural. Only artificial objects, things that had been made, were able to be animated. Furthermore, once an object had been infused with life and a yokai born from it, Errant was able to interact with it all she wanted and it would not spring to life again.

One such acquisition was a book known as a dictionary, a compendium of words with all sorts of meanings. For a time, Errant amused herself greatly by reading through it and expanding her vocabulary. Until she found it; the one perfect word.

"I've found it," she told Long, feeling breathless. "The perfect word,"

"What's that?" the dragon asked, addressing his beloved with a smile.

"Entropy. It's used to refer to knowledge lost in the passing on of a message," Errant explained. "It sounds . . right for me,"

"Is that so? Alright," Long bent down and kissed her. "My love. My Entropy,"

-[CoT]-

"Hey, wait. That's not what Entropy means. It refers to the inevitability of social decline and degeneration," Sarph interrupted.

"I'm a thousand years old. That's a lot of time for words to change their meaning," Entropy retorted. "Besides, I can't change it now. Otherwise Long might not recognise me when I see him again,"

"She's got a point," Pierce agreed, and Sarph looked at him irritably.

-[CoT]-

Before anyone knew it, twenty years had passed and an entire country had sprung into being in the caves, populated by small, ghostly animals born of Errant. Long was given the unofficial title of the Yokai King - it turned out that the larger an object a yokai was born of, the more large and powerful the resulting yokai would be. Long, as the result of an entire complex, was indisputably the greatest of all yokais. Yurei, as his son, thereby inherited the title of Yokai Prince. And Entropy was known as Mother to all yokai. Some of her 'children', in honour of the chaotic and mischievous nature most yokai shared, lengthened her title and addressed her as Mother of Mischief. Finding this epithet amusing, Entropy accepted it.

But unlike his parents, Yurei never forgot where they had come from. And he made it his quest to seek out and understand the people known as the Sky Canopy Dominion, and the TFEI. He would spend months on end exploring and searching. Because his parents may have been content to live in their secluded little underground civilisation, but he knew that the Canopy was a threat. They had to know who they might someday have to fight.

And, at long last, he laid eyes on a TFEI. He saw it after years of chasing rumours and tracking magical scents, he finally saw one of those red creatures with their metal masks for faces, in the act of cornering a human. But, more importantly, it saw him.

"And now to dispose of the original," the TFEI declared, ignoring the terrified village mayor's begging. A vortex of pink and red magic appeared around his feet and rapidly consumed him, Yurei watching, terrified, as he vanished into the ethernano.

"Now," The being turned, a cruel, inhuman smile stretched across the bearded face of the man he was using as a mask, and focused directly on the corner where Yurei hid. With a flourish, he knocked away the barrel, revealing the incorporeal form of the snake. "What on earth are you?"

"Are you Sky Canopy Dominion?" the Prince demanded.

The TFEI quirked an eyebrow. "Yes, I am with the Canopy. TFEI/R-148, at your service. Now how do you know about my masters? And how much do you know?"

"I know you made my mother," Yurei pointed out.

"Your mother?"

"Entropy, the Mother of Mischief. Though I think you called her Errant," Yurei pointed out. "What's going on between her and the Canopy? Do you want to kill her?"

"Errant?" R-148 paused for a second. "Oh, yes, now I remember. Errant! We don't want to kill her. She's a friend of ours, or, well, she was,"

"Huh?"

"See, Errant used to be part of our group, the Sky Canopy Dominion. Though most of us just call it the Canopy. She volunteered for an experiment that was supposed to give her incredible powers. And it did, since I assume that she created you. But as a side effect, she lost all of her memories from before the experiment,"

"Is that what happened? So you aren't our Enemy?"

"Of course not. Actually, we'd all really like to see her again - wait. 'Our'? How many creatures like you has Errant created?"

"She calls herself Entropy now. And I don't know? Hundreds? Maybe a thousand?" the green serpent guessed.

"Hundreds?" A calculating look entered R-148's eyes. "And where have you all been hiding?"

"I'll take you there," Yurei naively suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea. Just let me contact some friends of mine first. They'll be very happy to hear the news,"

-[CoT]-

"Here we are!" Yurei had led R-148 to the entrance to the massive cave system that was the home of the Yokai.

"I see. So this is where she's been," R-148 observed with a smile.

"She'll be inside somewhere, I'll -" Yurei was cut off as Entropy emerged, looking surprised. "Yurei? Son? Who is this?"

Yurei quickly explained, R-148 nodding encouragingly and doing his best to be pleasant.

"Oh, um, I see," Entropy looked wary, but nodded. "I, um," Noticng that her shyness was swallowing her ability to talk, Yurei suggested, "How about we go find dad?" His father's influence should help, he reasoned.

"G-good idea," his mother nodded, leading the two into the cave.

It wasn't long until they reached the 'throne room'. As they moved, the TFEI in their midst looked around curiously, finding most of the yokai around him to be just as small and weak as Yurei. "This is what you've been using your abilities for? Creating these amusing little beings?" he asked Entropy, a tad incredulous.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Entropy asked, not liking his tone.

"No. Not at all," R-148 smiled darkly.

And then they reached the throne where the massive form of Long, the Yokai King, resided.

"Oh, I see," the TFEI observed. "He's the King because he's the most powerful, hmm?"

"Well, yes," Entropy confirmed.

"Entropy, darling. And Yurei, I'm glad to see you're back at last . . who is this?" Long asked.

Before either of them could answer, R-148 chuckled and said; "Thank you, both of you, you've been an immense help," And, suddenly, he raised an arm and threw a powerful blast of red magic into Long's shifting coils.

On instinct, the mighty drake opened his massive mouth wide, and swallowed the magic whole. It briefly flickered inside his body, and vanished. "What is the meaning of this?"

Entropy tried to speak, but R-148 interrupted her. "Oh, are you surprised? You're the only one of these pathetic creatures powerful enough to actually pose a threat to the Canopy. And, thanks to these two, I can destroy you before that happens. So just die already!" he suddenly roared, throwing a volley of magic projectiles in his direction.

Long dissolved into golden mist.

The blood drained from Entropy's face, and she mouthed, "No,"

But the mist moved, swarming across the ground and engulfing R-148, wrapping around him. His feet started to break apart. Long was pulling him to pieces on a molecular level.

"No!" And suddenly R-148 exploded, his flesh and bone dissolving into red mist, a metal face emerging from his chest as he exploded back into his normal TFEI state. Entropy, having not seen such a creature since the first day of her life, shrieked, falling back and going limp. Her breaths came short and sharp, a sudden panic attack claiming her mind.

Golden and red smoke clashed, the other yokais of the cave watching helplessly as Long battled the invader.

"Give up!" R-140's voice echoed through the cave. "You can't win!"

"I do not take commands from you!" Long roared back at him, golden magic washing against the TFEI from all sides and compressing it back into a point. "You call me a threat to you? I think it's obvious that I am!"

"No," the metal mask hissed, red lightning crackling across it in the shape of a smile. "You can't win because my friends will be here right around . . now," On cue, five more TFEI emerged from the passages leading into the throne room, all already formed into masses of mist with metal masks for faces, and bellowed aggression.

"You brought . ." Long reformed into his oriental dragon form, looking around, until his eyes rested on Entropy and Yurei. "You brought them,"

The smaller yokais had begun to flee, escaping through the walls and around the feet of the TFEI. Long watched them go, his jaw setting. "I have not a friend in the world. Even my family betrays me,"

These words shocked Yurei out of his trance. "What? But - Dad -"

"Silence," And the royal authority of the Yokai King overrode Yurei's body, forcing his mouth shut. A very inopportune time for that ability to trigger. But that was not enough for the enraged King of all Yokai. "Begone!" he shouted. "All of you!" His voice carried, echoing through the tunnels and reaching every one of the yokai. Involuntarily, compulsively, they began to flee. Yurei was the only one with the willpower to fight, and against every fibre of his being, he stayed to help his father in any way possible.

As the TFEI closed in on him, Long made a decision. "If this world holds only my enemies . . then I shall leave this world,"

And, suddenly, green energy flashed in his body, and he shot through a gap between the assailants, plunging into the wall. A magical shockwave shot through the cave, splitting it open and creating a massive underground ravine in the already huge throne cave, kicking up mounds of dust and dashing the TFEI against the walls and into the adjoining caves.

When the dust cleared and Yurei could see again, his father was gone, and there was a twisted green scar in the wall.

R-148 was first to recover, moving over to inspect the wall. He cursed. "That monster created a pocket dimension!" he cursed.

"A what?" Yurei asked.

Suddenly remembering that the phantasmagoric snake existed, the TFEI leader turned and looked at him. "He's created a tiny world inside that rift where he's the only thing that exists," The monster chuckled. "But he messed it up! Really, it's perfect. He sealed it behind him without any way to get out. He's stuck in there, forever!" The chuckle turned into an outright laugh. "It's perfect; he's as good as dead, and definitely not a threat to us any more,"

Yurei went pale. "What? Dad's . . gone?"

"Yes. Now we'll just take Errant back to our master, and this entire mess will be over," R-148 moved towards Entropy, but Yurei got between them. "I won't let you!"

The creature snorted and kicked him so hard that the snake went flying into the wall and several metres underground, before scooping up Entropy. "Let's go!" he commanded his fellows.

As soon as R-148 left the caves, though, he was jumped. A hundred yokais, all gathered together, assaulted the TFEI. Though they were weak individually, by working as one the creatures beat him away long enough for an eagle yokai to swoop in, snatch up their mother and take off into the sky.

As the yokai dispersed across the land, unwilling to return to their home and with their King's final command to stay away still echoing in their beings, Entropy was carried to safety, away from the only people she'd ever loved. Meanwhile Yurei sat alone in the cave, staring desperately at the fissure where his father was now trapped. "What . . what have I done?"

-[CoT]-

"And that's the whole story," Yurei and Entropy spoke simultaneously.

"Whoa . . Kit, did you know any of this?" Pierce asked the white fox, who had materialised nearby at some point during the story. The yoke shook his head. "Nada. My mother told me stories of the Yokai Nation and Prince Yurei's betrayal, but I didn't know any of that," he admitted.

"Right, so yokai were originally created by you, but they can reproduce," Pierce surmised.

"How old are you?" Entropy asked with interest.

"Two hundred and eighty-five. Two-ninety-one if you count the time travel," Kit explained.

Entropy nodded. "If I had to guess, you're a fourth-generation yokai; I would have created your grandparents or great-grandparents. That's a lot of time for details to get lost or forgotten in the retellings,"

"What about you?" Sarph demanded, gesturing at the Swordmaster. He grunted, the motion inflaming the wound in his shoulder. "Did you partner with a Yokai?"

"I'll explain everything to you after we complete our mission," the Swordmaster assured him in that same rasping, dehydrated voice.

"I trust you won't try to stop us now?" Entropy asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry about us. I'll reserve judgement on your man here, but go ahead and fire up that drill. I don't want to keep you from your husband," Pierce assured her.

Entropy nodded her gratitude. "Thank you," she smiled.

"Wait," Sarph frowned, squinting at the eight-foot warrior. "You sound dehydrated," he observed.

Entropy, Pierce and Kit looked at him in confusion. "So?" Kit questioned.

"When I knew him, Swordmaster always wore that armour, and he knew how hot armour gets in warm climates like this. He would always make a point of staying hydrated," Sarph suspiciously explained.

"Some things are more important than hydration," the armoured knight replied, staring at him with unblinking amber eyes.

"My master is called the Swordmaster because he is the perfect swordsman. He would never allow anything to get in the way of his hygiene, his fitness, or his fighting ability. And staying hydrated is one of the basic aspects of one's physical condition. If you were him, or even a yokai genuinely bonded with him, you would know that. I can only assume that you have taken him over by force,"

There was a moment of silence, during which Entropy stood and turned, eyeing the man. "Is this true, Thraidey?"

"Thraide?" Pierce parroted. "That sounds familiar for some reason," Grace agreed.

The Swordmaster paused, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, mother. But to be honest, I don't really care about the King, or any of your little story. All I want is revenge, on Phoenix's Eye,"

"What? Why?" Pierce spluttered.

"Because you destroyed my family! I know you, Pierce Blastreyne, and as leader of your guild, I blame you!" Thraide roared through Swordmaster's mask. "I am the End of Friday, the fifth member of the Ends of Days! Six years ago, you and your guild destroyed Kairos End, the only family I'd ever known. And with you and yours here before me, I will take my revenge!"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Whoa, massive chapter. So much plot. I won't lie, this took me absolutely ages.**

 **Long is insanely powerful, if that wasn't apparent. He started the entire isolationist culture of yokai kind with a few poorly chosen words.**

 **I'm sorry if the worldbuilding's gotten a bit messy. I changed a lot of things before settling on the final version of events. So some of the previous chapters might not line up exactly with events as they are portrayed here. Future chapters will have retcons explaining the inconsistencies. Peace!**


	54. When You Do Callbacks To The Old Themes

Chapter 124: When You Do Callbacks To All The Old Theme Songs

"You're part of Kairos End?" Pierce demanded, struggling against the ropes. "Let me up! Now!" he commanded Kit and Entropy.

Thraide, though, pointed the evil-looking sword at Entropy, who stilled. "Don't even think about it. I've waited far too long for this,"

"Oh, screw that!" Suddenly, Kit leapt up and into the body of the Swordmaster, which stiffened.

"You think you can wrest control of this body from me? Absurd!" Thraide growled, shifting a little - and then freezing. "What?"

"I don't have to take control of the body!" Kit growled. "I just have to possess your armour and hold it still!"

"Way to go, Kit!" Grace cheered. Calvin grinned. "Clever!"

"Doesn't matter," Thraide growled. "You can't hold that forever!"

"I've piloted entire _airships_. I can definitely hold you long enough for Entropy to free my friends!" Kit retorted. His statement galvanised the woman into action, and she clumsily fumbled with the Vengestone restraining the four of them.

Thraide cursed. Everything was suddenly going wrong.

And, with a crashing sound, the Sonic Boom shot out of a cave and into the Fissure. "Hit it!" Boomer roared. On his cue, the side doors of the three-wheeler opened and simultaneous blasts of Sound magic from Boomer and Cal shot through the cave, striking the Swordmaster from behind and throwing him into the corner. With a shriek of panic, Kit flew out of the armour and landed in Grace's lap. The ugly red sword fell from his grasp and landed near Erik's feet.

Entropy stood up, raising her arms to keep herself balanced. "Boomer!" Pierce excitedly recognised the black-haired boy in the front seat of the Sonic Boom. Aberforth suddenly somersaulted out of the back seat, his eyes still glowing with Yurei's possession. The Beast Tamer started, seeing the Assassin behind Boomer. "Look out!" he warned, not knowing that Yurei was on their side.

"Huh?" Boomer saw Entropy eyeing him with a raised arm, and misinterpreted the warning. "Oh, no you don't!" he roared, slamming the accelerator down and ramming into the Mother of Mischief, knocking Yurei/Aberforth and Cal aside as he did and striking Entropy. The woman crumpled over the front wheel, her palm slamming down on the windscreen of the magic-mobile. There was a flash of red light.

"She's down!" Boomer grinned, backing up the Sonic Boom. But, even when he let go of the accelerator, the Sonic Boom continued to reverse, accelerating. "Huh? What's with my ride?"

"Watch it!" Tyria's shrill voice came from behind, as she span her Motorbike into the side of the wall to avoid the malfunctioning Sonic Boom. "Boomer, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"I don't know! Something's wrong with my car!" Boomer shouted back as the Sonic Boom continued to retreat. Suddenly, the door opened of its own accord, and the Sonic Boom spat him out into the cave. "What the hell?" the Sound Wizard asked, confused.

"Something really is wrong with your car," Tyria raised a confused eyebrow.

"Go help the others! I'll get the Sonic Boom!" Boomer commanded, running after the retreating vehicle.

Tyria nodded and they split, the Electrian emerging into the cave. She found everyone focused on the Swordmaster, but only had eyes for one man. "Pierce!" she exclaimed, happy to see her boyfriend.

"Tyria!" Pierce started, before realising he was still chained. "Um, might need a hand here,"

"Are you okay? What happened?" Tyria asked, hastening over to the four chained wizards. She paused, noticing Calvin and glaring.

Entropy spotted Aberforth and froze. "Y-Yurei?"

"YOU!" Cal roared, flying across the room and placing a sword at his chained doppelganger's throat. Everyone turned and stared in confusion, with the exception of Aberforth, who moved over to the prone Swordmaster and started inspecting him. "Am I seeing double?" Grace asked in disbelief.

"What the heck?" Calvin raised his eyebrows as he spoke.

"Stop . ." Cal paused, realising he hadn't considered how to put this. "Looking like me!"

"No, you should stop looking like me!" Calvin retorted.

"Don't even bother. He already told me everything, you're the fake," Tyria declared, pointing at the chained Calvin.

The doppelgänger looked disappointed. "Well, it was worth a try," he mumbled in a very different tone than before. "But I think you all have bigger problems,"

"Like what?" Sarph asked having picked up on what was going on surprisingly quickly. "You're in chains, Thraide's out of it, and Entropy's not evil after all," he pointed out. Tyria blinked, surprised by this, and Pierce nodded confirmation.

"Well, not evil though she may be, Entropy still brought your friend's car to life," Calvin pointed out. "That's going to be trouble,"

"Oh, did I?" Entropy blinked, her mouth falling open. "Um . . we can fix that," she hastily assured the group.

"And also, your friend there just picked up the cursed sword," Calvin pointed out with a cold smile.

At once, everyone looked at Erik, who had, indeed, just picked up the Swordmaster's weapon with the intent of cutting himself free. "It's a what?"

And suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head, the sword glowing red. "Very perceptive," Erik suddenly hissed.

"It's the sword! Thraide wasn't possessing my master, he's possessed the sword and is using it as a conduit!" Sarph exclaimed in sudden realisation.

With a mighty sweep of his arms, Erik ripped the chains out of the wall, before smashing his wrists together and cracking the shackles. "Oh, I like this body. Such raw power," Thraide smiled. "And Poison Magic, too. Having Haki was fun and all, but it's no substitute for good old-fashioned magic,"

Erik stood, looking around at the group with a feral smile and bloodlust in his eyes. "Now, who shall be the first to die?"

-[CoT]-

Panting, Boomer chased after the Sonic Boom. "Come back!" he shouted at his vanishing vehicle.

Unfortunately, the magicmobile didn't respond, continuing to reverse.

"What is going on?!" Boomer demanded.

The speakers crackled to life, and ran through Boomer's music collection in a high-pitched whine, before settling on a track. Macklemore burst through the speakers;

 _"_ _I got a new attitude and a lease on life, a_ _nd some peace of mind, s_ _eek and I find, I can sleep when I die, w_ _ant a piece of the pie, grab the keys to the ride, a_ _nd shit, I'm straight!"_

The speaker system crackled, before looping the track and playing a cut version of it; _"I got a new - lease on life - I - want - the keys to the ride!"_

"Something's controlling my car," Boomer realised as they emerged into a large ravine. The blue sky was visible above, as though they were in a massive hole. Parts of the ravine were curved and sloped, but it was a small - but deep - hole in the ground, almost a ready-made place to fight.

Also, Boomer was blocking the only way out.

The Sonic Boom slid to a halt, its motor quietly rumbling. Boomer took in the situation and grinned. "You're trapped now. Give me back my car!"

The speaker crackled again, switching tracks. " _You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down, strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground - you know that time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start, so dance alone to the beat of your heart!_ " The familiar tunes of Fall Out Boy assaulted Boomer's ears, but the boy had built up a resistance to loud noise over the years. He frowned. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

There was a burst of white noise, and the track skipped again. Havana Brown's voice roared; _"Warrior!"_ as the car launched a projectile of sound from its main speaker. Boomer yelped and dodged sideways, and the shot raced back down the cave and struck the ceiling. Both boy and car saw a cave-in that trapped them in the crater.

 _"_ _Nobody can save you now!"_ Boomer narrowly avoided another projectile from the Sonic Boom, recognising the playlist he had made for Kynigós. Imagine Dragons. _"King is crown, it's do or die!"_

"Why do you keep changing songs?" Boomer asked, more to himself than anything. "They all work equally well with the magic speakers," He paused, a thought occurring to him. The speakers.

His moment of distraction was punished by an attack that roared; _"The only sound, it's the battle cry!"_

But Boomer was dodging on autopilot. "The Sonic Boom needs an SE plug to work. It's powered by my magic. Astro installed a battery, but that's not infinite. If I just wait it out and get it to burn through its supply of ethernano, it'll shut down by itself soon . . unless whatever's controlling it is powering it too,"

Amidst the music, the Phoenix heard another noise; the engine running. The Sonic Boom was charging him. He blinked, seeing the speakers realign themselves to project some kind of shell made of pure sound, focused at the front like a battering ram, over the front of the magicmobile. "Since when can my car do that?!" he demanded, before scrabbling up the rock face as the assault landed beneath him. That was an awesome technique - he had to replicate it.

The music skipped again. _"Be hated or adored, but never ignored - but never ignored - but never ignored - but never ignored,"_ Blasts of sound shot from the speakers at him, knocking him into the air and sending him flying across the chasm, where he landed with a thump.

"Ignored," Boomer parroted, scrambling away. "Are you trying to tell me something?" he guessed, eyeing his car curiously. There was no logical reason to switch between music like this, unless the lyrics had meaning.

The song skipped again. "C _loudy memories, of the way it used to be, search for answeeeeeeers I can't see,"_

It was the music Boomer had bought while in Alfheim. _Crossing Field_. "You want answers? About what?" he interpreted.

'Crossing Field' continued to play. _"Looking back in time, all the images they tell me where I'm going,"_ But then the song cut back to Macklemore. _"I feel glorious, glorious, got a chance to start again,"_

"You . . you're not being controlled," the boy dropped his guard, cautiously advancing on his car. "You're alive," he realised.

The music stopped and the car hummed, unmoving.

"But how is that possible?" Boomer questioned.

The speakers crackled as the car searched. _"I wonder,"_ they eventually sang.

"Right. Well, I don't want to fight you," Boomer admitted, hesitantly advancing.

 _"_ _I still miss you," A Thousand Miles_ skipped, and the car hesitantly drove towards him.

"We'll sort this out. I'm sure Astro can figure out what happened," Boomer assured his car.

 _"_ _Believe me, I am still alive,"_ the Sonic Boom sang.

The musician paused. "I don't recognise that song,"

The car also stilled, and continued to play. _"I'm doing magic and I'm still alive. I feel fantastic and I'm still alive,"_

"Where are you getting that song?" Boomer hastened to his car's side, trying to see the readout on the music lacrima. The car shivered a bit, but allowed it.

"Still Alive. That's not one of my songs," he observed, seeing the title. "Can you show me the artist?"

The car was unresponsive, but the screen flickered into a blur as it tried to find a song whose lyrics could answer the question. Boomer winced. "Okay, stop! You don't need to work so hard on my account,"

The player settled back on _Crossing Field_ , and, at a lowered volume, the car played; _"I'm trapped in the dark, but I'll never give in. I want to break free, escape this endless nightmare,"_

"Nightmare?" Boomer repeated as the song abruptly stopped. "Are you hurting?" The Sonic Boom didn't respond. He paused, thinking it through. "What do you want?" he directly questioned his car. "To stay with me? Explore the world?"

In response, the Sonic Boom changed song again. _"All we're looking for is love, and a little light, love and a little light - do you ever feel, like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again - we could be heroes - flying so high, up in the sky - and stay, stay, stay, another round, because who wants to live forever? - I want to always be with you -"_ The car suddenly stilled, and Boomer tried to puzzle out the meaning.

Luckily, his magicmobile wasn't done. _"Baby you're - heroes - I'm trapped in the dark, but - looking for is love and a little light - you know I'd walk a thousand miles, if I could just - feel glorious - and stay, stay - forever - heroes - with you - glorious - heroes - forever - with you - glorious - heroes - forever - with you -"_

And suddenly Boomer understood. "You want to be a member of Phoenix's Eye," he realised.

The car went quiet.

"Yeah, okay. We can totally do that. Hell, you already have the guild mark, we're basically there already," he declared with a smile, gesturing to the Phoenix's Eye symbol embossed on the steering wheel.

Suddenly the main speaker swivelled and blasted him with a high-octane declaration of _"It's all a Catch-22!"_

Boomer went flying, his face hitting the rock and kicking up dirt. "What the heck?" he questioned, seeing the Sonic Boom rotate and target him.

 _"_ _Whip, whip, run me like a racehorse, pull me like a ripcord, break me down and build me up!"_ the singing car burst out as it charged him again and the Phoenix narrowly dodged. "What gives? We were just making progress!" he protested as the car span and turned.

There was a crackle, and the unknown song burst out once more. _"Believe me, I am still alive!"_ The car attacked again, knocking Boomer into the far wall of the canyon. Suddenly, it went quiet.

Boomer picked himself up again.

 _"_ _Go ahead and leave me,"_ the car played, suddenly sounding strangely fearful. _"I think I'd prefer to stay inside. Maybe you'll find someone else to help you,"_

Boomer raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Leave you? Fat chance," he scoffed. "Seriously, what gives? You're my car. There's no way I'd ever leave you,"

 _"_ _Everybody's got the power,"_ the Sonic Boom sang in response, before changing songs. _"I am just a man, not superhuman,"_ It paused, before playing again, _"I am - a man, I - got the power,"_

". . What?" Boomer was right back to being confused.

 _"_ _Whatever it takes!"_ the car suddenly boomed. _"I am still alive - I am - a man - I'll do whatever it takes - if I could just see you - if - you - could just see - I am -"_

And suddenly it clicked. "You think I still see you as just my possession, not a person," Boomer realised.

 _"_ _You - understand,"_ It was still just fragmented recordings of music, but the car seemed relieved.

Advancing again, Boomer placed a hand on the bonnet. "Hey, girl. It's okay. I get it. You have nothing to worry about. Alright? I understand,"

 _"_ _I want to always be with you, I want to hold you tight right now, I swear that I'll be who you choose, I'll give you everything I have,"_ the Sonic Boom sung back to him.

"Sounds like a good time to me," Boomer grinned. "Now come on. Our friends are still in trouble," he reminded the car.

The door swung open, and Ed Sheehan sang; _"I'm on my way, driving at ninety down those country lanes,"_

-[CoT]-

Pierce stared, slack-jawed, at the force taking over his friend. He didn't know how to process this, he didn't know what to do about this.

 _"_ _You were all dead,"_ Kynigós' voice echoed in his ears. _"You and all your friends were dead in that future because you weren't careful enough. So if you take one thing out of this experience, Blastreyne, don't be such a good person. It got you killed before, and it might again,"_

Pierce could only watch, dumbfounded, as Sarph stepped up, brandishing «Tenshi Meiyo». "Give us back our friend," he commanded.

How was he supposed to protect everyone like this?

A/N

 **A/N**

 **I am so sorry for the delayed update. There was an issue with my hard drive and my main draft of Chapter 124 vanished. Luckily I retrieved a backup, but I had to do extra work to bring it back up to speed. Still, all done! Peace!**


	55. OT9: On My Own (Ashes Remain)

Chapter 125: OT9: On My Own - Ashes Remain

 _There's gotta be another way out_

The Phoenix's Eye symbol floats in the sky, glowing blue.

 _I've been stuck in a cage with my doubt_

The camera falls, dropping from the sky and into the stands of Domus Flau, focusing on Kynigós.

 _I've tried forever getting out on my own_

The sky turns black, and images of Equivaton, Asuka, Ryos, Lucy and Zena appear around him, until Zena resolves into reality and Kynigos scratches her horns.

 _But every time I do this my way_

The camera pans into the arena, where Sarph and Artorias are clashing with Jasmine and Eishaj.

 _I get caught in the lies of the enemy_

Pierce and Tyria engage Orga and Asakura.

 _I lay my troubles down_

Pierce bursts out in blue fire, before shifting into a a combination Take Over of Phoenix and Lairon Souls and launching himself at Asakura like a cannonball.

 _I'm ready for you now_

He slams into the floor of the arena, leaving a hole, and the camera drops through the floor, entering the caves.

 _Bring me out_

The camera swoops past Aberforth, skulking in the shadows.

 _Come and find me in the dark now_

It emerges into the Fissure, focused on Entropy, with the Swordmaster backing her up and wielding Thraide.

 _Everyday by myself I'm breaking down_

Entropy spasms, falling to the ground, reaching out towards the green crack that holds her husband.

 _I don't wanna fight alone anymore_

The camera lingers, and for a second a massive eye can be seen through the crack.

 _Bring me out_

At the mouth of the cave, Aberforth crouches.

 _From the prison of my own pride_

He collapses, limp, and Yurei emerges, looking around.

 _My God I need a hope I can't deny_

Team Pierce, Cal, Entropy, Mister Thick, Nino and the Swordmaster look back at him.

 _In the end I'm realizing_

Cal scoops him up, and both smile at one another.

 _I was never meant to fight on my own_

The image fades into a Phoenix's Eye logo, coloured the green of Yurei's scales.

-[CoT]-

Dinner was not as sociable an affair as Kynigós would like; as much as it was a pleasure to eat with the King and Princess Hisui, it just wasn't practical considering how busy they both were running the country. Actually, they were out of town for the week. On nights like this, he tended to find himself with only Zena for company.

"Enjoy, sir," the black-haired serving girl deposited a plate of steak before him. Kynigós smiled, taking up his knife and fork, before pausing, noticing a small piece of paper peeking out from under the broccoli. He carefully extracted it, unfolding it to read; _Meet me in the gardens tomorrow night._ The phrase was written in fine calligraphy, and a heart was inked under the words.

Kynigós cast the serving-girl a questioning glance and was rewarded with a shy smile, flushed cheeks and a wink. Once she was gone, Kynigós cast a glance at an oblivious Zeta and hummed. "I guess I have an admirer,"

The following night, Kynigós entered the Crocus Gardens and quickly found the serving-girl in question, seated on a picnic blanket with the most stereotypical picnic basket imaginable at her side. She was dressed in a low-cut plain dress that glittered a dark blue. "You came. I'm so happy," the young woman, probably a couple of years younger than Kynigós, beamed as he sat down.

"Geez, I feel underdressed," Kynigós has made no effort to dress up for the occasion, and his aged and ragged coat, which still had faint stains of Dragon blood in it, contrasted sharply with the decor.

"You're fine," the young woman assured him. "I'm Sonya," she added.

"Good to know," Kynigós cooly replied as she pulled out a plate of sandwiches and a decanter of some kind of juice. "I know it's simple, but you don't strike me as the sort to care about fancy food,"

Kynigós plucked a sandwich with his sole remaining flesh hand and bit into it. "Beef. Good choice," he offered.

"Thank you," Sonya nodded, sounding pleased.

For a few minutes, the two chatted. Kynigós couldn't help but smile a bit. Sonya was sweet, and funny.

It was almost as though she really was a simple servant who had a crush on the mysterious dragon tamer.

"So," Kynigós asked during a lull in the conversation. "How many knives are hidden inside that dress?"

Sonya blinked. "Wha - What are you talking about?" she stammered.

"Or do you prefer guns? You obviously aren't much of a sniper, but do you have pistols in your boots? Or how about some kind of obscure magic for killing people?" Kynigós guessed.

The young woman shook her head nervously. "Why would I have a gun?"

"Because you're an assassin sent to kill me. Which country sent you? I'm fairly sure that the first two were from Giltena and the Alvarez Empire, so that rules them out. You're not skilled enough to be from the World Government. Some obscure principality, maybe?"

"What makes you think I'm an assassin?!" Sonya was on her feet now, looking cross.

"A few things gave you away. First, your handwriting," Kynigós flashed the note that she had given him. "Most of the people in this castle are only barely literate. You, on the other hand, write in cursive and dot your 'i's with hearts. No ordinary maid would have the opportunity to learn to write like that,"

"I take pride in my handwriting. That doesn't make me an assassin,"

"Second, there are two kinds of sandwiches here. Some of them are made with ham, some with beef. You've only eaten the ones with ham. So, either you really hate beef, which is unlikely given that you're the one who prepared this meal, or the beef sandwiches are poisoned,"

"I know that you like beef more than ham, I was saving them for you,"

"Also, I can literally taste the cyanide," Kynigós flatly told her.

She was stunned for a moment. "Well . . then it doesn't matter! You're already dead!"

"Yeah, not so much. You know the king keeps a poison neutraliser mage on retainer? His job is to prepare poison neutralisation lacrima pills for anyone likely to get poisoned, and I've been having one with my breakfast every morning. So's Zena, if you're wondering," Kynigós laconically explained.

"Oh - well -" Sonya stopped dead as a detail from earlier in the conversation finally registered itself in her brain. "The . . first two?"

"The first one was a total klutz. She tried to snipe me. _Me,"_ Kynigós scoffed derisively. "The second one was good, he attacked me at night while I was asleep. Too bad for him I sleep with one eye open. I'll admit, poisoning's a new one on me. Usually people have the guts to kill me directly,"

"And . . they're both dead?" Sonya asked, looking suddenly fearful.

"One of them is. Care to guess which?" Before the assassin could answer, Kynigós slammed the back of his fist into her face. "It's the second one. Because he was stupid enough to come within arm's reach of me!"

Sonya stumbled backwards, and a magic circle appeared before her as she began to cast, but in a flash Kynigós had his rifle out and lodged a bullet between her eyes.

"Easily the worst assassin yet. Four out of ten," he scoffed, before looking at the corpse. "I suppose someone needs to clean that up,"


	56. CT9: Fairy Tail Main Theme (dj-Jo Remix)

Chapter 126: CT9: Fairy Tail Main Theme (dj-Jo Remix)

Two hundred years ago, there was a young swordsman named Pedro who was also a skilled blacksmith. Pedro spent much of his life perfecting his craft, until he created his masterpiece; the blade that he named Thraide.

And, for a time, armed with Thraide, Pedro abandoned his craft and became renowned as a great warrior, whose loyalty belonged to the highest bidder. The exploits of Pedro carved his name and his sword's into history, and Thraide was later considered to be one of the 22 legendary swords to bear the classification of O Wazamono.

Until, after a score of years, Pedro discovered there was something he desired more than fame and prowess. He had fallen in love with a woman, the lady Dawn, and his beloved could not deny her own attraction to him, but there was a problem. Dawn was a devout pacifist, and knew that she could never love a man who lived to fight. Pedro was left with an ultimatum; whom did he love more? The choice was clear.

And so Thraide was discarded, and Pedro returned to his blacksmithery and turned his attention to a new pursuit; creating an instrument of love, not of war. The result was an intricate, multifaceted topaz, set into an eight-pronged golden hoop and affixed as a necklace. Pedro called it the Shining Sun, and presented it to his beloved as both a token of his love and proof that he loved her enough to sacrifice all else to pursue her affections. Moved by his actions, Dawn gratefully accepted his love, and they were wed.

But all was not well. Pedro might have discarded Thraide, but a sword that numbers among the O Wazamono rarely remains idle for long. Another man came and sought the sword as his own, but knew that Thraide would never answer to him so long as its previous master was alive. So, with the sword in hand, the newcomer broke into Pedro's dwelling and assaulted him and his wife in their sleep, ending both their lives in a single blow.

The Shining Sun, which Lady Dawn always carried close to her, was stained by their blood and permanently turned cloudy. Or, more accurately, blind.

And thus began the bloody history of Thraide.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Okay, so to be honest I'm kind of getting sick of the opening and closing themes. Would anyone miss them if we stopped doing them?**

 **FYI, there's no theme lyrics here because it's all instrumental. One of my friends recommended dj-Jo's 'glitch pop' remix of Fairy Tail's main background music to me, and it is just perfect for Phoenix's Eye. So, yeah, listen to it if you want. Peace!**


	57. The Swordmaster of Destruction

Chapter 127: The Swordmaster of Destruction

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _"_ _It's the sword! Thraide wasn't possessing my master, he's possessed the sword and is using it as a conduit!" Sarph exclaimed in sudden realisation._

 _With a mighty sweep of his arms, Erik ripped the chains out of the wall, before smashing his wrists together and cracking the shackles. "Oh, I like this body. Such raw power," Thraide smiled. "And Poison Magic, too. Having Haki was fun and all, but it's no substitute for good old-fashioned magic,"_

 _Erik stood, looking around at the group with a feral smile and bloodlust in his eyes. "Now, who shall be the first to die?"_

 _-[CoT]-_

"Release our friend," Sarph commanded, levelling «Tenshi Meiyo» at Thraide with his one working hand.

"Why? You won't hurt him, will you?" Thraide challenged.

Sarph faltered. "Well . ."

"He's not _my_ friend," Yurei growled and Aberforth charged, brandishing a long wooden staff. With a skilful motion, the assassin's body twisted, bringing the weapon around to slam into the side of Erik's head. "No!" Grace protested.

But she needn't have worried, as, with unexpected lightness that he had never before exhibited, Erik leapt upwards and brought his foot down on the stick, driving it into the ground. With a powerful thrust, Thraide brought down Erik's other foot and snapped the weapon into two pieces.

"Aberforth was very good friends with that staff. He's going to be really -" Yurei choked as Aberforth's body stiffened for a moment, before he whipped a poisonous-looking dagger from his cloak and lunged for Erik. "You killed Glider!" the deranged assassin spat.

Thraide again span out of the way of the attack with ease. "This body is so much lighter!" he exclaimed. "I feel like I'm made of cloud,"

"Reality Dragon's Pronged Plumage!" Suddenly Grace was charging him with a magical headbutt. "Let my brother go!" she demanded.

A calloused hand met the back of her neck, and Erik plunged her face into the rock underfoot. "Oh, I like him far too much for that," The momentary distraction dealt with, Erik refocused on the assassin who was still trying to stab him. "What a pain," he declared, easily snatching his wrist and breaking Aberforth's arm like a twig. The poisonous dagger fell to the ground and Aberforth's body convulsed.

Sarph, Pierce, Kit and Tyria watched, paralysed by indecision. Entropy, though, took action. "Thraide! Why are you doing this?"

"Why? After all this time, my mother dearest finally asks why?" Thraide spat, eyeing her with venom in his gaze, twisting Erik's body to point the tip of his blade directly at her. The pink trails in the red blade sparked with malice. "I'm so glad that I convinced you to care!"

There was a click. "Don't move," Aberforth, or perhaps it was Yurei again, hissed. In the assassin's functional left hand was a pistol, whose muzzle was pressed to the back of Erik's head. "I'll give you five seconds to get out of that boy's head or I'll splatter his brains and your ectoplasm all over this cave," His eyes flashed green, and Cal and Pierce recalled what they had heard about Yurei controlling Aberforth's murderous impulses. It was probably taking all of the Prince's strength to stop him from just pulling the trigger.

Thraide snorted derisively. "I have a better idea,"

Yurei and Aberforth's breath caught in their throat.

In less than a second, Thraide had reversed Erik's grip on the sword and plunged it past his hip, directly into Aberforth's chest.

With a swift motion, Erik withdrew the blade, and Thraide shivered in pleasure. "I so love the taste of blood,"

"You bastard!" And suddenly Cal tackled him. The blacksmith had his own sword drawn, and the blade flashed in a twisted manoeuvre that was intended to disarm Erik. "Get your filthy hands off -"

The strike was deflected. "I don't have hands, I'm a sword," the possessed weapon snidely retorted.

"Shut up and die!" Another strike, another parry. "I'm gonna melt you down and turn you into a safety railing!" He slashed again. "Or a light fixture!" Cal wound up for a powerful thrust, having knocked the other sword backwards and knowing he couldn't be deflected. "Or a doorknob!"

Instead Erik used his free hand to shove the boy backwards, unbalancing him and sending him crashing to the ground. "My, how the tables turn," he declared, lazily twirling his sword.

"Well done! Now, if you wouldn't mind freeing me, I'm sure we can make short work of this lot," Calvin requested.

"Free yourself, dipshit. There's no point in hiding your power if we're going to kill all of them anyway," Thraide snorted at the false boy, before turning his attention back to the genuine article. "You know, I can't decide whether to kill you or take you over,"

Pierce, though, was startled out of his trance. He looked at Calvin, and whispered to Tyria, "So just to confirm, this guy we've been travelling with was secretly evil the whole time? I won't feel bad about hurting him later?"

"Exactly," his girlfriend replied.

"Good," Pierce grinned. The cave was too small for him to summon any of his beasts; with so many people present, it was rather cramped as it was. So what was the best way to do this? . . wait. "Kit, why am I still chained up?"

"Oh - sorry! I'll get on that!" Evidently Kit had been just as distracted by the proceedings as everyone else.

"You're not worth the hassle. I'll just kill you," Thraide decided, and stabbed Cal's chest.

A blue hand caught the blade. "What?" Erik questioned, looking up in confusion.

The Swordmaster had recovered, and thrown himself bodily forwards to intercept the strike. Except now he was going limp again, and green mist was coalescing around his shoulder. "That was far too close a call," Yurei hissed, looking slightly ill. "Excellent idea, Kitsunetsuki, possessing the armour. I commend you," With that, he collapsed next to Cal, on the edge of the blood that was pooling around Aberforth's prone body.

The boy in question tugged at the heavy metal gauntlet that was now pinning him. "Could you get this thing off me at least?" he demanded.

"Only a slight delay," Thraide hissed, retracting himself and going to stab Cal's throat instead - but this time his blade vanished into a fold of bent space. "What on Earth Land?"

"Not on my watch," Grace declared, before hissing, "Break!"

With reflexes like lightning, Erik pulled Thraide out of the bent space a millisecond before the distortion snapped shut, which would have broken the sword in half. "I see I'll have to kill you first,"

"Stop! Please! All of you!" Entropy begged. Everyone paused, looking at her. "Thraide! Why are you doing this?"

"You really don't know? You never even recognised me?" Thraide demanded.

"Where could I have recognised you from? I hadn't met you before until you came to me in that body and declared you would help me reunite with Long," Entropy replied, looking lost.

"Oh, _mother_. I lied _,"_ Thraide responded, Erik's face portraying casual disdain. "I'm not a second-generation yokai. I'm not even a yokai at all. And that's your fault," he spat.

-[CoT]-

It had been two hundred years ago. Entropy had, on a rare occasion, passed through a town of ordinary people. She was searching for magic that could free Long and reunite her with him, as she had always been.

She happened to pass a blacksmith in the street, who had just finished forging a gem into a pendant as a gift from his lover. He called it the Shining Sun, because his lover was all that and more to him.

Entropy never even noticed, but her naked thigh grazed ever so slightly against the blade that hung at the blacksmith's belt.

And Thraide came to life.

-[CoT]-

"But I was never freed like all those other things you brought to life, that became yokai. For two hundred years, I was stuck in this piece of metal. Eventually, I became it, used it. I learned to use the body of anyone who touched this cursed sword to gain my freedom, and never cared that their freedom was the price of mine. But it was your negligence that cursed me to this existence, this loneliness. I'll repay you by leaving you lonely for eternity!" Thraide roared. "You will never see your beloved Yokai King again! I swear, he will remain where he is now and you will be lonely for the rest of your miserable life!"

Entropy looked shell-shocked. "I . . I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Thraide snorted. "But I'm far past caring. The best years of my life were after I fully awakened, when Kairos End took me in,"

"How can a dark guild give you the best years of your life?" Tyria demanded.

"Because Kairos End was my family!" In a fit of rage, Thraide slashed at her, but Tyria was far enough away that she could see the blow coming and dodge it. "I spent fifty years with Master Eternity! I was his sword, his right hand! The one he trusted more than anyone! And then one day, in February of X785, I went out on a routine mission, just to check up on some of our subordinates. I came home to find there was no home to go to! Monday, Eurydice and Fred were all dead, Master Eternity, Mordonna and Clockwork had all vanished, and, worst of all, Aberforth had betrayed us! And who was to blame? _Phoenix's Eye!"_

"At least I could take solace in the fact that Master Eternity had taken you all down with him. Or so I thought for six years. But then, at the Grand Magic Games, I saw you, all of you! You were all alive and laughing and fighting together like nothing was wrong! And Mordonna had also turned traitor, but Eternity and Clockwork were still missing!" Finally at the end of his enraged rant, Thraide had left Erik gasping for breath.

"Really, it's quite convenient that you're all here. I was going to come and kill you all once I was done here anyway, so you've saved me some time, as it turns out," The crystalline blade glinted with menace. "Because you're going to tell me where Master Eternity is. And then all of you are going to die!"

"Well said," There was a sudden flare of red ethernano, and Calvin stood up, the magic-cancelling vengestone chains disintegrating as they fell to the ground, useless.

"You're finally coming to play," Thraide greeted him, making Erik smile.

"They have reinforcements coming. It's time to wrap this up," the boy declared.

A massive, Tectonic fist of blue and silver metal punched him straight into the far wall. "We'll wrap it up alright," Tyria snorted, glad to have someone she could hit. "There's seven of us and two of you. And Boomer will be back any minute. Even if we don't want to hurt Erik, what makes you think you two can take us all at once?"

"Let me demonstrate," Red, smoky ethernano began to play across Calvin's skin. His clothing fragmented, breaking apart into pink particles that were absorbed by his body. His eyes dissipated into dust as his face broke in half, instantly decaying to reveal a gunmetal mask with pink lightning playing over it that erupted upwards. Within moments, there was no humanity left, only a vaguely humanoid form of red and pink ethernano that crackled and hissed with evil magic.

The blood drained from Tyria's face, as Pierce, Grace, Sarph and Kit all stared in disbelief. It was one thing hearing Cal and Yurei's descriptions of the true form of a TFEI. Another entirely to witness it in person.

Entropy and Cal, though, reacted with hostility. They had both seen a TFEI in their natural state before. They were facing one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet. "I-I hope you c-c-can fight th-that thing," Entropy stammered, her fear on the verge of overwhelming her.

"What the heck?!" Grace spluttered.

"So this is a TFEI?" Pierce was on guard. But some part of him was relieved, in a twisted way. Now he could put an image to the threat. This must have been what Kynigós was warning him about.

"Oh, you've heard of us? How flattering," Calvin's voice emanated from the smoky mass. He took a step forward, and the ground sizzled where he touched it. "Know, then, that I am one of many,"

"In service to the Sky Canopy Dominion?" Cal guessed.

"You've done your research," Calvin hissed. "Or, I suppose, your annoying little friend there has," The mask twisted, focusing on Yurei. "I've already killed your partner. Let's finish the job," The red TFEI's smoky arm lashed out, intending to engulf the wispy green snake, who was still on the verge of unconsciousness.

But Cal was quicker. In spite of having his waist pinned under his unconscious master's armour, his arms were free, and he scooped up Yurei's ectoplasm and threw him straight across the room, behind the Phoenixes.

"You wish to take his place? I can oblige," Calvin hissed, sending his magic to wrap around Cal in attempt to suffocate him.

"Keep away from him!" Grace roared, lunging forward and punching the TFEI. His magicallised form, however, parted at her touch. A chuckle echoed, and Calvin's other arm pinned her. Grace immediately struggled, trying to focus on opening a rift.

"Kit!" Pierce called, surging forwards to help Grace. Looking up at his call, Kit leapt into Pierce's back, just as his guild mark erupted into blue flames.

Pierce's form shifted as Yokai Unison overtook his body, and flaming blue claws raked the TFEI - and made contact. Calvin recoiled at the touch. "Oh, that's right, you can invoke the Purging Pyre. How annoying,"

"Is that what this is called?" Pierce questioned as his hair lengthened into a waist-length white mane and red markings appeared on his face to match Kit's, his body bursting with magical fire. "I am learning so much today!"

"How did you learn that anyway? No one's used the Purging Pyre in four hundred years!"

"Beats me. But this is our second time today," Pierce declared as Kit brought back their fists for a double punch, concentrating their power. "Yokai Pyre Blaster!" they roared, cloaking the Yokai Wave Blaster with the Purging Pyre and striking Calvin with the technique, sending his misty form stumbling backwards. Kit grinned through Pierce's lips.

The TFEI was blown backwards. "This isn't fair . . this isn't right. That power shouldn't exist," Calvin growled, more to himself than anything.

"How do you trigger it?" Grace asked her brother, screwing up her face and focusing, trying to tap into the Purging Pyre.

"Strong emotions, I think," Pierce replied.

"Not true," Calvin shot back.

"Like I'm going to believe you," Grace spat.

"There are three requirements for a wizard to use the Purging Pyre," Suddenly, Entropy spoke, as though she were in a trance. "The first is that the user be in a state of heightened activity. Overwhelming emotions satisfy this criteria. The second is that the user has been exposed to sufficiently refined extradimensional magic, of which the Purging Pyre itself is an example,"

"Mum? What are you saying? How do you know that?" Yurei asked, eyeing her with concern.

"The third is that the user be a member, or descended from a member of the guild that created the Purging Pyre long ago,"

Pierce/Kit and Grace paused. "Wait, what?"

But Thraide had had enough of waiting. Erik's body lunged forwards, delivering a slash with Thraide's crystalline blade that would have bisected Pierce - if not for a golden sword blocking it. "It's rude to interrupt," Sarph declared, sweeping upwards in a motion that would disarm Erik of Thraide.

Somehow, though, the boy kept his grip on the weapon, but in doing so left himself wide open for a direct attack. In any other situation, Sarph could have delivered a lethal blow.

But it was still Erik.

And then Calvin surged forwards, his red mist wrapping around Sarph. He was glad to see an opponent who was helpless against him, and plucked the knight from the ground before throwing him bodily into Pierce/Kit. The three Phoenixes were thrown backwards, narrowly avoiding the mechanism that Entropy had built, and crashed into the far wall.

"Pierce!" Grace gasped, but knew not to take her eyes off her opponents. "Reality Dragon's Roar!" The attack surged above Cal and the Swordmaster, catching Erik and Calvin and knocking them both upwards.

"You'd hurt your own brother?" Thraide asked, imitating being hurt.

"Any brother of mine can take a few hits," Grace retorted. She gritted her teeth. "Come on . . Purging Pyre, go!"

Predictably, there was no response.

"Focus on Thraide. I'll handle the smoke thing," Pierce instructed, the hybridised Phoenix sweeping past her and striking for Calvin, who narrowly dodged.

"I'll help!" Tyria added, preparing to cast.

"What? No!" Pierce immediately vetoed the idea. "You need this Pyre stuff to hit him!"

"Naah. You just need a bit of creativity. TechType: Jetpack!" Tyria invoked, dropping to her hands and knees as her two fan turbines appeared, whirring to life. But, rooted to the ground as she was, the jetpack instead began to suck Calvin's smoky form in like a vacuum cleaner. Pierce and Kit watched in amazement. "That's brilliant!"

"Wrong," the red TFEI spat, suddenly condensing his entire form behind the metal mask of his face and diving straight into Tyria's engine. And as her mechanised flesh met the ethernano-infused metal, it shattered like glass.

Pierce's heart leapt into his throat as Tyria screamed in agony, Calvin ripping her jetpack apart from within. Metal splintered and burst, the steel face forcing itself through the strut like a wedge and targeting her back. Paralysed by pain, the Electrian was helpless. And Pierce and Kit both could see that the monster was only seconds away from burrowing into flesh and ripping her spine in half.

He wouldn't allow that.

There was a wave of magic, and the blue flame of the Purging Pyre burst in every direction as Pierce charged, his magic reaching a crescendo. The others in the cave watched in amazement or averted their eyes as Kit's claw reached straight through Calvin's smoky body, grabbed his twisted metal mask, ignoring the pain that spiked up his arm as a result, and bodily pulled the TFEI away from his girlfriend.

Before Calvin could even register what was happening, his mask was being smashed into the rock. Ignoring the fact that he was positively swimming in the evil magic that comprised the TFEI, the Yokai-United wizard bashed his head into the rock, carving cracks and dents into the magical metal. _"Y_ ** _0_** _U W_ ** _0_** _N'T HURT ANY_ ** _0_** _F MY FR_ ** _1_** _ENDS!"_ Pierce roared, Kit being almost drowned out by the Tamer's rage.

With a final blow, the crackling mask hit the ground one more time and broke in two.

Calvin's ethereal form went limp, collapsing around the group's feet, as the magical mask fizzed and sparked. With a flash of light, Kit burst out of Pierce's body, and both slumped, drained.

"Well done," Sarph smiled at his teammates.

"Did you . . kill it?" Cal asked, eyeing the torn mask through the mist.

"I thought they couldn't die," Yurei mumbled, inching closer to the two halves of the broken masks, leaving Cal behind.

A hissing, rasping voice echoed through the cave. "Y **0** U . ." The fog around their feet shifted, moving towards the broken mask.

"What's happening?" Grace asked, panic crossing her face.

"You're all screwed," Thraide smirked, as the voice continued. "ARE . ."

The broken mask lifted into the air, burning with magic. Everyone watched as the fractured edges turned molten and pressed together, welding itself back into one piece. The corrupted red ethernano surged around it, forming once more into the humanoid figure, and pink lightning in the shape of a mouth appeared beneath the mask's eyes. "C **0** RRECT," Calvin responded to Yurei's claim, looking none the worse for wear whatsoever.

The Phoenixes and assorted allies stared in disbelief. "That's not possible," Tyria mumbled.

"A TFEI cannot die," Calvin smugly explained, his voice echoing through the cave. "Any magic you throw at me is useless. Even the Purging Pyre is a mere inconvenience,"

No one could muster the willpower to respond. Yurei hugged his comatose mother's leg, anticipating the end.

"That said, you did a very good job of trying to kill me," Calvin looked down at Pierce, his electrical lips forming a smile. "It's only fair that I return the favour," He drew back a cloudy arm and focused on forming it into a razor-sharp spike.

There was a sudden noise, like a crashing of metal, and everyone paused, trying to identify the source.

An inhumanly tall man stood in the cave, almost silhouetted against the light from without. All eyes watched as he strode towards the group, clad in form-fitting blue armour reinforced with silver. His head was covered by a smooth mask that bore amber-coloured eyepieces, and protected by three beetle-like spikes that extended from each shoulder and his back, which scraped against the roof of the cave.

He unsheathed a four-foot scimitar, made of the same blue metal with a glistening white edge, and held it up. "I am the Swordmaster of Destruction," he declared in an aged, gravelly bass. "Once the champion of Shogun Shen, until I killed his daughter and was exiled for it. My sword has left a wake of destruction across Alakitasia. Who are you to stand before me?"

Sarph stared at his teacher, gripping «Tenshi Meiyo» with white knuckles, gritted teeth and fierce resolve in his eyes. He whispered two simple words. "He's back,"

"Oh yeah," Cal agreed, hope entering his eyes.

"The Swordmaster of Destruction. Scary," the red TFEI snorted, disparaging. "Surely you aren't so ignorant of your situation as to not know what a TFEI is. Your little wake of destruction ends -" Something flared behind the Swordmaster's amber eyepieces, and suddenly there was a sensation that Pierce, Grace and Thraide knew all too well.

A million invisible lions roared at once, the unmoving warrior radiating absolute power, focused like a laser on the TFEI. It washed over Calvin like a tsunami, and immediately the TFEI showed its effects; he collapsed in on himself, shrinking and condensing as the sparks making up his body fizzled and died.

"Conqueror's Haki," Pierce recalled the term. So TFEIs were vulnerable to this Haki technique? . . He had to learn it.

In a swift movement, the Swordmaster reached behind him and produced a scimitar. Unlike the one that Thraide inhabited, though, this one was twice as thick, with a pearly cutting edge that melted into bronze with blue trim. Its hilt was bound in green leather, and its crossguard curved upwards in a simple but elegant design.

Suddenly, the Haki in the air intensified, and the pearly edge of the sword turned black. With a mighty cleave, the blue warrior struck, severing the mask of the TFEI in two once more.

"That won't -" But Tyria was cut off, as the Swordmaster struck again, splitting the mask into three pieces. Then four. Then six. Then seven. "Quickly. All of you, take one of these pieces," The knight commanded, picking up one of the larger. "We need to keep them separate. It's the only way to stop him from reforming,"

With a blur of reality warping, Grace snatched the pieces up one at a time, handing them off to Tyria, Entropy and Cal, before keeping one for herself. Pierce and Sarph each moved in to take one, and the Swordmaster clutched the last in his own free hand. "Once our business here is concluded, we will bury them in different places. It is the only way to ensure that he will not return," the Swordmaster rumbled.

"I think that you're forgetting something," Thraide hissed, before lunging forward and targeting a seam in the Swordmaster's armour.

With a slight shift of his balance, a retractable metal plate emerged and covered the weak spot. Thraide's blade bounced off. "I forgot about that pesky armour," Erik's mouth hissed.

"You will not catch me off guard again," With impossibly quick reflexes, the Swordmaster twisted and caught Thraide's blade in the crossguard of his scimitar, before raising it and twisting the blade. Acting like a fulcrum, the hilt of Thraide twisted in Erik's grip and his fingers slackened. Then the Swordmaster disengaged and struck at the Dragon Slayer's wrist with the flat of his sword. Had he used the blade, Erik would no doubt have lost a hand. As it was, the shock sent a spasm through his nervous system and forced him to drop the sword.

Thraide clattered to the ground and Erik was released.

The Swordmaster thrust the limp boy away before skipping backwards, ensuring that neither of them touched the sword by accident. Grace quickly caught him, laying Erik, who had immediately fallen unconscious, on the rock.

"Master?" Sarph eyed his teacher warily.

The helmet turned, amber eyepieces glinting. "Edward," The Swordmaster nodded courteously.

"Edward? Who's that?" Grace asked.

Sarph smiled. "That's my real name. It really is you, Master," he inclined his head respectfully.

"Did you at any point believe that pretender was really me?" the powerful warrior asked.

"Of course not," Sarph assured his teacher.

"How about you, Cal? Were you fooled?" the Swordmaster addressed the black-haired boy, who was picking himself up. Cal frantically shook his head. "Of course not, master!"

"Glad to hear it," he responded. "I assume these are friends of yours?" he gestured at the Phoenixes.

"Yes! This is Pierce, Tyria, Grace, Erik and Boomer's gone somewhere," Sarph explained, introducing his teammates. The Swordmaster nodded to each of them in turn. "A pleasure,"

"He's surprisingly nice," Grace observed.

" _He_ can hear you," the warrior cajoled her. He eyed Entropy and Aberforth curiously, then started a bit. "Cal, there is a dead man behind you,"

"What?!" Cal jumped, turning, and looked at what was unmistakably Aberforth's corpse. The assassin's blood was pooling in an indent in the cave floor, and he wasn't moving. Quickly, the boy checked his pulse. "Oh,"

"Don't feel bad for him," Yurei assured Cal, crossing the cave and pausing near the boy's foot. "He was a mass-murderer before I even met him,"

Cal gently picked up the yokai. "Wasn't he your partner, though?"

"Honestly, I wouldn't call him a partner so much as a loaded cannon; I could only ever point him in the right direction and hope to minimise collateral damage," Yurei admitted. ". . That said . . I've been with him for years. I guess I did grow a bit attached . . isn't that pathetic?"

"As far as eulogies go, this _is_ pathetic," Grace piped up.

"He never seemed that bad to me," Cal admitted, reaching across the corpse and sliding Aberforth's eyelids shut.

"He shot me," Sarph interrupted the moment. "I still have the scar,"

"He almost killed Masquerade, too," Grace remembered. "He was actually kind of a crappy assassin,"

"You'd all be dead if I hadn't made him miss," Yurei hissed. "Aberforth, as a partner you were trying, at times. But I wouldn't be here today without you. I'm sorry for deluding you into thinking that your weapons were alive and wanted to be your friends. Rest in peace,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **I don't buy it. This is Aberforth the Assassin we're talking about, he'll probably jump up and go "You losers all thought I was dead! TROLOLOLOLOL!" and then kill everyone. Any second now.**

 **. . Any second.**

 **. . . Aberforth, you're making me look bad.**

 **Fine, guess he's really dead. Oh well, he was kind of cramping PoH's style anyway.**

 **Originally, mind, Aberforth was going to go in a really different direction. When I first created him, I had some complex Phoenix-esque reincarnation scheme for the Guild Master of Phoenix's Eye. Master Feng was slated to die during the S-Class Trials, and then 'reincarnate' into Aberforth. Or something. To be totally honest, I never worked out all the details.**

 **You might be wondering why I scrapped that plotline. Well, there's two reasons. First, like I mentioned, I created Aberforth before I even knew that PoH existed in SAO, let alone that I wanted to use him in Phoenix's Eye. Second . . I just don't like Aberforth that much. The direction his character ended up going - does anyone here know** ** _Wakfu_** **? I sort of tried to model Aberforth after Remy from that show, a suave, swashbuckling rogue with weapons that were all possessed by minor demons. But . . something got lost in translation, I guess.**

 **Also, he tried to kill Sarph, and that kind of pissed me off.**

 **Still, here's where we say goodbye to Aberforth the Assassin. For now, anyway. Heh. Peace!**


	58. The Yokai King

Chapter 128: The Yokai King

Meanwhile, Pierce had another topic to broach. "Excuse me, um, Swordmaster," he started, recalling with discomfort how easily the man had knocked him out. "How did you do that? The . . Haki, was it?"

"It's an advanced technique that is prevalent in the New World, the most dangerous region on the planet. You rarely see it in Fiore," The Swordmaster explained.

"But you can use it to fight those . . TFEI?" Pierce pressed.

"Only indirectly. There are three kinds of Haki, but only Conqueror's Haki has any effect on a TFEI. Conqueror's Haki saps the willpower of people it is directed at, knocking people out without leaving a scratch on them. I must apologise for using it on you while being controlled by that _thing_ ; if it makes you feel any better, your resilience is impressive," the Swordmaster explained. "However, it only serves to weaken a powerful being like a TFEI,"

Pierce looked at the fragment of metal in his hands. "Well, then how do we beat them?" he protested. "They have to have a weakness,"

"Maybe we should ask her," The Swordmaster suggested, gesturing to Entropy, who was still, like a statue.

Yurei had climbed up her neck and was locking eyes with her. "Mum?" She didn't respond.

There was a crashing noise, and suddenly the Sonic Boom entered the cave, grinding to a halt. Boomer emerged, looking around. "What did I miss? Who are we fighting?"

"Relax. It's all over," Pierce assured him. "Entropy's not evil, the Swordmaster's not possessed anymore, and the TFEI isn't coming back,"

"Oh. Good," Boomer started, seeing Aberforth's corpse, but then noticed Yurei. "Um . ."

Tyria followed his line of sight. "Thraide had a grudge. Also, don't touch that sword," she warned, gesturing to the possessed pink blade.

"What . . what are we going to do with that anyway?" Erik was coming to, focusing on the sword that had controlled him. Pierce and Grace steadied him as he rose.

"Leave him," Entropy suddenly spoke. "We're at the bottom of a massive cave system that no human has entered for centuries. Once we leave, the odds of anyone else ever coming back here are negligible. He will be stuck here. Forever," Yurei breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that his mother was responding again, and jumped back to the ground.

Before anyone could react to her suggestion with more than a thoughtful nod, Boomer interrupted. "Why is the Sonic Boom alive?"

"Mother can bring anything she touches to life. We explained this," Yurei testify pointed out.

"I know. I mean, why did you do that to my car?" Boomer demanded.

"I'm sorry. It was an accident," Entropy seemed to be coming to her senses. She kept her eyes fixed on the Sonic Boom, away from Yurei. "I'll free you," she declared, placing a palm on the car and feeling the familiar magical film that only she could detect over its plating. She gathered it in her hands and pulled.

As Entropy pulled the magic out of the Sonic Boom, it shifted into the visible spectrum, becoming a billowing black cloud that was shot through with flashes of gold. It span and condensed, whirling like a tiny tornado and concentrating itself into a sphere, before expanding outwards and hitting the ground, sprouting four legs that ended in gleaming ebon hooves and a long, flowing golden mane that ended in an equine face with an ornate, spiralling horn between its eyes.

"A yokai . . unicorn?" Pierce spluttered in disbelief.

The newborn, first-generation unicorn yokai briefly hovered in the air, before lowering her hooves to the ground. She was almost hard to look at; her pelt was thin and and coloured like the night sky, and no one could quite tell whether she had fur or naked skin. One's eyes were naturally drawn to the pale gold of her horn, mane and tail, and her dark eyes rolled wildly around the room before fixing on Boomer. "Daddy!" she suddenly squealed in a beautiful, melodious voice, twisting and pulling the short wizard in, softly neighing and nuzzling his back with her throat pressed to his shoulder.

". . Say what?" Boomer spluttered.

The unicorn nickered softly. "I can talk now. I thought that wouldn't be possible. It was so hard trying to talk using that dumb speaker system,"

"Hold on, hold on. How exactly am I your father?" Boomer asked, pushing the yokai away.

The unicorn eyed him curiously. "Well who else would be?" she asked.

"I-" Boomer had no idea how to respond to this, and the newborn took this as acceptance, nickering and nuzzling him again.

"Okay, listen up, kid!" Boomer and the new yokai turned to see Kit preening on the ground before them. "My name's Kit and as a two-hundred-and-eighty-one-year-old yokai, I am your elder! Henceforth, you shall refer to me as Master Kit, and I will teach you the ways of the yokai!"

The unicorn considered this for a second, before kneeling down on her front legs and bowing her head. "Yes, Master Kit,"

"I'm not sure what's more surprising, that Kit thinks that that'll work or that it did," Tyria mumbled to Pierce. "Don't worry, if she's smart she'll figure out that he's full of crap pretty quickly," he replied, before silently cursing. So much for his resolution not to swear around Grace.

"Well, there's one thing left to do," Entropy suddenly resolved, striding over to the machine that had lain against the wall, forgotten. Everyone eyed her curiously.

"We're going to free dad," Yurei agreed.

Entropy stiffened momentarily as he spoke, but gritted her teeth and focused. "I've waited a thousand years. It's time," she agreed. "Yurei, Kit? It's fueled by yokai energy. I was going to have Thraide power it, but, well . . oh, you too, I suppose, if you think you can, um . ." She gestured at the unicorn, reaching for a nonexistent name. Realising what she was reaching for, the yokai looked at Boomer. "I need a name," she realised.

"Siria," Boomer immediately put forward, seemingly before realising what he had said. "If you want," he lamely added.

The unicorn spirit nodded to herself. "I like that," she confirmed brightly. "Let's do this,"

The three yokai gathered before the machine, analysing it. It looked like a laser, filled with mirrors and magnifying glasses that all converged on one conical focus that was aimed directly at the green rift in the wall.

Siria was first, pointing her horn at the device and focusing magic into it, in the form of a golden laser. Yurei joined her, adding a green beam of energy into the mix, and Kit twisted his tail, firing red energy out of it. The green, red and gold bounced through the mirrors and glasses, being focused, refined and fused until it hit the Blind Sun, which shone with radiant light. The assembled wizards watched in amazement as the Blind Sun projected a beam of magic directly into the heart of the glowing green crack in the world. The Fissure shone with magic, the green slowly bleeding out to be replaced with pure white, and space itself seemed to distort and ripple, the cave wall slowly flexing and breaking open.

Everyone looked at Entropy. "It might take an hour or so," she admitted.

The Swordmaster held up his piece of Calvin's face. "Let's split up and bury these. Meet back in an hour," he instructed.

-[CoT]-

Shortly after the Phoenixes returned to the cave, the crack resolved into a shimmering, white, circular portal that spread and became transparent.

The three yokai finally fell away from the machine, each looking exhausted, but the portal remained. Entropy hastened to it, and the other wizards followed her, eager to look through the portal and see the Yokai King.

Entropy's breath caught in her throat. "No," she murmured.

"What's wrong?" Grace asked.

"It's not possible," she mumbled. "Not after all this time . . something must be wrong with the device,"

"Mum? What is it?" Yurei questioned, picking himself up, snaking through the wizards' legs and peering through the portal. "Oh no," he mumbled, seeing what was inside the rift.

Nothing.

It was empty.

The pocket dimension, the impossible room in the cave, the final refuge of the Yokai King . . was empty.

"What . . but . . _where is he?_ " Entropy demanded, a shriek that bounced around the pocket dimension and echoed back into her face.

"Erik, can you hear anything?" Pierce suggested.

"I'm afraid not," the Poison wizard admitted. "It's silent,"

Entropy screamed. "Long! Where are you . . where are you?!"

Only her own voice echoed back at her.

For a moment, all was silent.

"We should . . I think it's time to go," Pierce suggested. An empathetic Grace took Entropy's hand, and Cal picked up Yurei, as Boomer climbed into the Sonic Boom with Siria draped across the rear seats. Kit jumped onto Pierce's shoulder, and for once, the Tamer didn't shoo him off.

It was a somber procession that made its way back up the cave runs.

"Hey. I just realised something," Pierce suddenly blinked, looking at Grace and Erik.

"Yeah?" the older Dragon Slayer asked.

"Entropy said that to use the Purging Pyre, you had to be descended from a member of the guild that created it," Pierce reminded them both. "And me and Grace can both use it,"

Realisation hit them both at the same time. "That means we actually are related!" Grace beamed at her adoptive brother. "Do I have to start calling you cousin, then?" Erik chuckled.

"It wouldn't go amiss," Pierce teased, and all three chuckled.

"You're lucky," Tyria grumbled.

"Ahem, demigod. You're probably the most powerful one here, you need that power up the least out of our whole guild," her boyfriend pointed out. "Besides, if you had it that would mean we're distantly related too, and -"

"What, you think every member of this mystery guild was related to one another?" Tyria pointed out.

There was a moment of silence.

"I like Pierce's interpretation better," Grace snorted.

"It's definitely worth researching. This mystery guild that created a power I've never even heard of before," Sarph frowned and opened an Archive screen, running a quick search. "Huh,"

"What is it?" the greenette Dragon Slayer asked.

"The Purging Pyre dates back four hundred years, when it was first seen being used in the continent of Alakitasia. Since then there have been reports every few years of a lineage of powerful women in Alakitasia who can use it . . and that's it. No users in all of recorded history aside from this one dynasty," Sarph read.

"See? It is just one family!" Grace grinned at Tyria triumphantly. "We should try to get in touch," she added. "If we've got long-lost family in Alakitasia, I want to know,"

"It's worth a shot. We'll write them a letter when we get back to the guild hall," the knight agreed.

"An excellent effort," the Swordmaster suddenly rumbled. "You've grown into a fine leader. Sarph," he pronounced the chosen name carefully.

"What? Oh, I'm not the leader of our team. Pierce is," Sarph corrected his teacher.

The Swordmaster paused for a moment. "I see. Surprising,"

"I keep telling you, I'm not a leader," Pierce groused.

For a moment, every Phoenix chuckled. Cal haltingly joined in. Yurei balefully glared at them all. "Show a little tact, people," he growled, gesturing at his morose mother.

Everyone quieted. "Sorry," Erik mumbled on behalf of the group.

-[CoT]-

They came to the cave where Nino E. Servhardt was just regaining consciousness. "Mistress!" she cried, seeing the group.

"We're not fighting anymore. It's over," Pierce immediately informed her as she rushed to Entropy's side.

"Yes. Tailwind, you might as well let Nino back in control. There's no point anymore," Entropy mumbled.

Everyone reacted in surprise, hearing this. All the more so, though, when a tiny, avian yokai emerged from the metal spike in Nino's hand, perching on her shoulder and bowing her head respectfully. Nino, for her part, shook her head, her eyes rolling backwards as she mumbled incoherently. "Give her a minute," the yokai - Tailwind - nodded. "She'll be fine,"

At this, Nino came to. "Huh? Wha . . oh, hi. How did . ." She read Entropy's face and quieted. "If there's anything I can do, mistress . . ?"

"Just walk. Our friends here have places to be," Entropy stiffly commanded.

-[CoT]-

It was a quiet procession that eventually emerged into the twilight. It had been a long day, and the moon was rising on the horizon.

And there was someone waiting for them.

Sarph glared balefully at Mister Thick. The knight's shoulder was still a bloody mess, as patched over as it had been. But this was no time for a fight. "The fight's over. We're done. Go home," he commanded.

"Yes, Thick. It's over," Entropy confirmed.

Yurei looked morose. "We'll never find dad,"

"So you opened the pocket dimension and found it empty?" Mister Thick confirmed.

"Hey. He sounds different to before," Erik frowned suspiciously.

"Yes," Entropy nodded, ignoring the Dragon Slayer.

"How does that make you feel?" Thick pressed.

Anguish was etched into Entropy's face. "How can you ask that?" she demanded. "I feel like I'll never be happy again! Like life is meaningless! Without . . without . ." she choked, swaying on her feet.

"Good," the man nodded, raising his pile bunker. The massive weapon glinted with menace, before suddenly flashing with golden light.

"If you think you're hurting her now," the Swordmaster rumbled, stepping forwards, but Yurei sniffed. "Wait. I know that magic!"

Orange smoke burst forth from the weapon, falling away from Thick himself, rising into the air like the smoke of a bonfire. Black streaks appeared, and the magic funnelled itself, twisting and coiling into a long, serpentine form, which spread outwards into the shape of a massive draconic being.

Entropy and Yurei both froze. "L-Long?" the Mother of Mischief squeaked.

"Forgive me," the massive yokai bowed his head. "But I've been watching you all for quite a while. And . . I am sorry,"

"Hold on, hold on," Kit interspersed himself from the group. "What exactly is going on?"

"I would never seal myself into a dimension I could not escape on my own. I slept for centuries, but when I heard that, outside, someone was trying to free me, I exited to see what was happening. And, after what happened . . I still didn't know what to think, whether I could trust you, or Yurei. I was paranoid, and I was selfish. For all this time, I've been watching, because I knew the true test would be your reaction when you saw that my prison was empty. Seeing you now, like this, I realise I never should have doubted your love for me. And, Entropy, I am sorry," Long explained, remorse painted across his orange face.

Entropy stumbled forwards, almost falling into the massive creature's arms. "I don't care," she whimpered, tears of relief trickling down her face. "I'm just so happy that you're here,"

And then Yurei was there too, wrapping himself around them both. "Father," he hissed, sighing in relief.

The Phoenixes watched the family reunion, and Siria affectionately nuzzled Boomer. Tyria leant on Pierce, who absently wrapped an arm around her neck. "Do you think we'll ever have children?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Someday? Of course," he assured her, the question bringing it mind a flurry of thoughts and feelings.

All of which, of course, Erik was privy to. "Hey, Pierce. Sorry to ruin the moment, but can we talk? Alone?" he gruffly asked.

Pierce cocked an eyebrow. "Sure, I suppose,"

Erik led him a little ways back into the cave, where they wouldn't be overheard. "Okay, What is with you? This entire mission, your mind's been going in overprotective circles. Something happened, didn't it? Something that's gotten you obsessed with protecting your friends. So what's the deal?"

Pierce stared at him flatly. ". . It is so easy to forget that you can hear people's thoughts," he sighed.

"C'mon, spill. We're friends, aren't we?"

Pierce nodded, sighing. ". . You met Kynigos, right? The version of me from an alternate universe -"

"Who travelled to the future and learned Dragon Slayer magic. Yeah, I had a run-in with him," Erik confirmed.

"He told me what happened to us, in that future," Pierce's voice went soft.

". . and?"

"We were all dead,"

Erik cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I heard a bit. There was, what, less than one-tenth of humanity left? I don't think it should really be that surprising,"

"No. It was my fault," Pierce shook his head. "Kynigos told me how I died, specifically. He heard it from the future version of Boomer. The bad dragons tricked me and Grace into meeting them, pretending they wanted to make peace. But it was just a trap to get rid of Grace . . . and I fell for it. I was too trusting, I wanted so badly to believe that they were just like any of my beasts, and . . and we died, because I was naive! Because I wasn't careful enough! Because I didn't try hard enough to protect everyone!" he roared, his own fury with himself breaking through to the surface.

Erik flinched. Pierce was usually so laid-back, who knew he had a temper on him?

"I can't let that happen," The Beast Tamer looked positively demented at this, possessed by his own determination. "I'll protect them. I'll protect everyone,"

"Pierce, you're gonna run yourself ragged if you keep on like this," Erik pointed out.

"I don't care. I'd rather it be my life than theirs on the line,"

"Pierce!" The Poison Dragon Slayer placed both of his hands on the Tamer's shoulders, gripping them and holding him in place. "Do you really have that little faith in your friends?!"

The blond stopped, briefly stunned.

"They can protect themselves. I've heard about all the adventures your little group's been on, since before you even met me," Erik growled. "And it sounds to me like you all did a pretty good job of not dying way before you started going on about protecting your friends like a madman,"

"But - but they -"

"Your own future self's gotten inside your head. But listen to me; that future doesn't exist anymore. We destroyed it, remember? And right now, in this future, the most likely way that any member of Team Pierce is gonna die is you getting so overprotective that you get yourself killed shielding someone from an attack they could have avoided!" Erik snapped. "The rest of us aren't incompetent klutzes who need you protecting us 24/7. I'm not saying don't try to cover the rest of us, but have a little faith. You're not even the strongest member of your team, so don't be so big-headed!"

Pierce was momentarily struck dumb. ". . . yeah," he nodded.

"Good. Now, honestly. Let's get back to the others. And do us all a favour and keep your head screwed on straight from now on, alright? Or I might just have to beat the sense back into you," Erik snorted, trekking back out of the cave. After a moment, Pierce followed him.

To find three members of the royal yokai family shouting at one another. "And what makes you think you're entitled to treat that poor, disturbed human as a weapon? You should have gotten him therapy," Long shouted.

"Yeah? How many people do you have to kill before you're no longer entitled to human rights? One hundred? Two? Because, trust me, he met those criteria!" Yurei retorted, his tiny green form shouting with just as much volume as the massive orange dragon.

"It's not about how many have died at one's hands, it's about whether or not you have the ability to help them," the Yokai King sternly explained.

"Oh, don't talk down to me. I spent the last thousand years out in the world while you were cooped up in your little hole. There's an entire order of magnitude between my knowledge of humans and yours. And trust me, there's no helping someone like Aberforth. We're just lucky that I got some use out of him,"

Sarph inched over to Entropy. "They're really going at it. Should we intervene?"

She turned, a massive smile across her face. "Why? It's been so long since they had a good argument with each other. Don't ruin their fun,"

The knight sweatdropped. ". . Your family is weird," he sighed.

"And another thing, what the hell are you planning to do now?" Yurei challenged. "I'm guessing you don't want to just go back into those caves?"

"Oh, please. Entropy, dear? I think we should go travelling. See the world," Long declared, not even looking at his wife. "And that's an entire order of magnitude more of a plan than you have, boy," he triumphantly snorted at his son.

"That sounds nice," Entropy encouraged him, but husband and son ignored her.

"Bullshit! I have a plan for what to do next!" Yurei retorted. "And it's a hundred times better than your vague travelling plan,"

"Oh, do tell," Long sceptically snorted.

"So, do they just get a kick out of yelling at each other?" Grace questioned.

"They're competitive. It's in their blood," Entropy assured her.

"I'm going to join Phoenix's Eye," Yurei smugly declared. "That's gonna be way more exciting than plain old travel,"

There was a moment of silence. In unison, each member of Phoenix's Eye cried; "What?!"

"Oh, no way!" Kit suddenly appeared, growling at the Prince. "Phoenix's Eye is my guild! I'm not letting any other yokai in my guild!"

"What about me?" Siria interrupted, crouching next to the two feuding yokai.

"You're basically my niece, you're an exception," Kit waved her off.

"Kit, that's . . not exactly your decision to make. Only Master Feng can reject someone who wants to join the guild," Pierce informed him.

Kit just sulked at this.

"Then it's settled, Kitsunetsuki. I'm joining Phoenix's Eye," Yurei smugly told him.

"Would you stop calling me by my grandfather's name?!" Kit snapped.

Yurei paused. "Your . . eh?"

"I mean, sure, that's technically my name too, but no one actually uses it! You're just pissing me off!" Kit snapped.

"Wait. Your name _isn't_ Kit?" Pierce raised a very confused eyebrow.

"Technically? My full name is Kitsunetsuki the Third. But my grandfather and father were hardcore yokai solitude . . ner . . ists, but I had enough contact with them to learn about what little yokai culture there was. And, apparently, I look exactly like my grandfather and someone can't tell the difference," the vulpine yokai growled.

Yurei had the decency to look abashed. "Oh . . apologies, Kitsu - Kit," he corrected himself.

Kit huffed. "Thank you,"

While this had been going on, Sarph, Cal and the Swordmaster had been having a private conversation. "So, master, what now?"

"Back to retirement, I suppose?" Cal checked.

The Swordmaster eyed both of his pupils. "Yes . . but I'm not taking you with me, Cal,"

". . Huh?"

"You've learned all you can from me. You have a lot of talent, and you deserve better than squandering your years taking care of an old man like me. Go with Sarph, and join Phoenix's Eye. You'll do better there,"

"I can't just leave you by yourself, master," Cal protested.

The amber eyepieces of the helmet glinted sternly. "That's an order," the Swordmaster rumbled.

Cal frowned, but nodded. "Yes, master,"

"Now, Mimic some water magic for me. I am terribly dehydrated. Damn cursed sword,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **. . . Wait did we seriously just get four new guild members in one story arc?**

 **Eh, fine. There won't be any new recruits in the next couple of story arcs, it evens out.**

 **And with that, the Sword of Destruction arc is over! I'll admit, this one got a bit choppy. I revised the plan for this one a lot, possibly more than I have any other arc in the story. The end result is that this arc is vastly different to what I originally had in mind. So, as a result, maybe it's not as coherent as I'd like. But so what? This is fanfiction. There are stories waaaaay worse than this in the archives, so I feel pretty good about it all the same.**

 **Peace!**

-[CoT]-

"So, Boomer?"

Boomer turned to Kit. "Yeah?"

The yokai had a mischievous grin. "How are we going to explain to the guild that you had a daughter with my great-grandmother?"

"I . . what?"

Grace cheekily grinned. "Hey, you totally did!"

"No . . I . ."

"We were all there. That's what happened," Pierce nodded, a smile playing over his lips.

"But . ."

"Wait, the Sonic Boom is full of Boomer's magic, and Entropy used it as a womb. That means Boomer is actually Siria's mother," Tyria corrected the group, and everyone nodded.

"That's not -" Boomer tried to protest.

"Mummy!" Siria suddenly burst out, affectionately nuzzling the Sound Wizard.

"I am too young and male to be the mother of a unicorn!" Boomer suddenly screamed, interrupting the discussion.

Siria recoiled, looking worried. "Maybe that was a little too far," Tyria guiltily mumbled.

"You don't want me?" the black unicorn mumbled.

The black-haired boy paused, seeing how upset she looked. He wrapped an arm around her neck. "Hey. I don't want people calling me your mother. But I'd be honoured to be your father. Okay?"

Siria smiled. "Okay!"


	59. Initial Encounter Failed Totally

Chapter 129: Initial Encounter Failed Totally

"Everyone?!" Pierce shouted at the Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall from a raised position on the second floor.

The cacophonous rabble that was his guild mates ignored him.

Pierce sighed. "Boomer?"

The Sound Wizard was about to step forwards, but a large, shimmering form of black and gold emerged from his boombox. "Can I try?" Siria asked.

Pierce eyed the equine yokai thoughtfully. "Sure,"

The spectral unicorn nodded gratefully, drawing breath - and sung. A sweet, melodious high note echoed from her throat, shattering every other sound in the building and drawing everyone's attention to her. Pierce's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He'd heard sirens who were worse singers than Siria. That was an impressive talent she had.

Siria stopped singing, and there was a brief silence as everyone looked at the unicorn in amazement. "Now that we have your attention," Pierce called into the guild, "we have a few announcements to make! First of all, we have four new members!"

"Are you sure you're not starting a harem?" one of the guild's elders, a senior drunkard named Larry, interrupted.

"Three of them are male," Pierce retorted.

"That doesn't mean anything!"

A tick mark appeared above the Tamer's forehead. "Will someone shut him up?"

Another mug of beer was stuffed into Larry's hand by Sarah, and Pierce nodded. "Most of you already know Erik," he gestured to the tanned Poison Dragon Slayer leaning on the stairwell, who waved, and by way of greeting, offered, "Half of you are married, stop eyeing up us young people. And most of you ladies could take a fashion tip from Donna, unless you enjoy being leered at," he gestured to the very conservatively dressed Celestial Wizard.

"How do you know my name?" the bluenette in question asked.

"For those of you who haven't met him, Erik can hear people's thoughts. So be careful what you think around him," Pierce warned the guild.

"Relax. I know when to respect people's privacy," Erik's callous smile was perhaps disconcerting to everyone except Kinana, who beamed at him.

"Next, I'd like to introduce Siria," Pierce gestured to the unicorn, who tossed her mane. "She's sort of Boomer's daughter,"

Everyone stared at the unicorn in shock. "Okay, when and how did Boomer bang a _unicorn?"_ Russel broke the silence.

Boomer's cheeks flushed at the accusation. "I did not!" he hotly protested.

"Yeah, my mum's sort of but not really human!" Siria agreed, completely oblivious to how this did not help.

Nonetheless, their cumulative efforts seemed to have temporarily broken Phoenix's Eye. Erik just chuckled, fully privy to several people imagining Boomer having an encounter with a unicorn that ended in Siria's birth, and Artorias quietly wondering how Boomer had gotten laid before him. Erik chuckled; so the reclusive Blood Wizard had a naughty side. Donna might be very interested in that.

Pierce finally cleared his throat. "Anyway. I would also like to introduce Cal Jones, our new blacksmith!" he indicated the young, black-haired boy, who waved. "Nice to meet you all!"

"He's cute, for a kid," Ariel eyed him, interested.

"I didn't know you were looking for a relationship," Eve blinked, surprised.

"Oh, I'm not, but I'm not asexual," No, there was only one person Ariel could ever love . . but Cal's magic had a faint touch of the Canopy about it. He didn't seem like a TFEI, but she needed to investigate . . and report this to Cardinal. Feigning a mild attraction would be a good excuse to get a closer look.

"And lastly, Yurei. He's around here somewhere, if you see a green snake yokai it's probably him,"

"Hey! I'm right here!" Yurei glared from literally right next to him. A smile playing across his lips, Pierce pretended not to see him. "Oh, and whatever you do don't stroke his ego, it's inflated enough as it is,"

A few good-natured chuckles ran around the room as Yurei's frustration simmered. "Now, onto the second thing I need to tell you all about," Pierce gravely declared. "Has anyone here ever heard of a TFEI?"

Ariel turned white as a sheet.

As the other members of the guild murmured to one another curiously, being unfamiliar with the term, Ariel hastily reasserted herself, feigning just as much confusion as her guildmates. "Any idea what a ti-eff-ee-ai is?" Eve asked her, clumsily parroting the acronym.

Temporally Fluctuated Entity Interface, she silently corrected her closest human friend. "No idea," she casually lied with a shrug. Her eyes strayed to Erik, and she twitched, making doubly sure to project false, mundane thoughts such as "I wonder what that is?" over her true processes. Thank goodness she'd anticipated Erik joining the guild and planned a countermeasure. He could have blown her cover in minutes.

"On our last mission, we encountered a member of a faction calling themselves the Canopy. He was some kind of artificial, immortal magic being, capable of perfectly imitating a human. He called himself a TFEI. We don't yet know what that means, or what the Canopy's goal is. But keep your eyes open. They've been known to replace people, mimicking them in every way. If someone's acting strangely, keep an eye on them. I don't want to say suspect everyone, because if we resort to that we'll all drive ourselves insane with paranoia. But watch out, and be ready. We don't know what these things want, but we do know that they're ruthless, insanely powerful, and they can't die,"

"Hold on, what? They can't die?" Alice parroted, stunned.

"It's baffling, I know," Pierce nodded, reflexively swallowing. "But from what we saw in the caves, a TFEI can heal from any wound almost instantly. They're made of corrupted ethernano, like red smoke, that's focused around a metal face. The only way to defeat one is to cut or break their face into several pieces and keep the pieces separate,"

Ariel's mind whirred like a supercomputer as he spoke. Pierce, and probably his whole team, had seen the true form of a TFEI? And he knew that they could duplicate a person's fluctlight - their soul? He'd even worked out how to neutralise one? They'd obviously had a run-in with an agent of the Canopy, he'd specifically mentioned the Canopy. Damnit, this put her in a fix . . on the one hand, they wanted Phoenix's Eye to fight the Canopy, but alienating the other Phoenixes from all TFEI, red and blue alike, was not on the agenda . . she needed to make a report to Cardinal. She needed instructions on how to handle these developments.

Grave looks graced every face in the guild as Pierce finished. "Any questions?"

"I have one," Everyone turned to see Master Feng leaning against the door leading into the east wing of the guild hall. "Who the hell do you think you are, standing up there and making speeches like you're in charge of the guild? I'm still the guild master here, damnit!"

"But . . it's important news," Pierce wilted, sounding almost petulant.

"Then tell the important people first! Or do you just think your guild master isn't important? Is that it?" Master Feng demanded.

"Hey, old hag! Are you saying the rest of us aren't important?" Lync demanded, standing up from his table and glaring at the Guild Master, to cheers of approval from several of his guildmates.

"Don't you brats know to respect your elders?" the aged master demanded.

Someone promptly threw a chair at her.

The guild hall rapidly devolved into a massive tavern brawl.

". . Is it always like this around here?" Siria nervously asked. "Pretty much," Boomer confirmed.

"Maybe joining was a mistake," Yurei mused. "What do you think, Cal . . Cal?" he frowned, seeing the blacksmith was nowhere to be found.

Wait, no. He was engaged in a fistfight with one of the other guild members, and seemed to be loving every second. "At least one of us is happy," Yurei mumbled.

-[CoT]-

"Hey, Donna," Erik and Kinana, who seemed to have attached herself to his arm like a bear trap, sidled over to where Donna was seated at the bar, pulling up a stool next to her. "When everyone was wondering how Boomer knocked up a unicorn -"

"Did not happen!" Boomer loudly reiterated from a few tables away.

"I caught some interesting thoughts from Artorias, and your name came up. So are you two a thing or what?" he asked.

"If they are, it's news to me," Kinana interjected, eyeing Donna suspiciously as the Celestial Witch buried her face in her robe.

"Yeah, right. If Artorias wants to get together with anyone, it's Kenzie Black," Donna mumbled.

Erik frowned. "Who?"

"A pirate, S-Class Wizard of Phoenix's Eye, she was here for the Games but she's been on some kind of impossible job for the last sixteen years and after the Games she went back to her job," Kinana summarised for Erik.

"I also saw her kiss Artorias. At least once," Donna added.

"I really think you're making too big a deal out of it. It was the marriage portion of the beauty pageant event. Besides, did you see anything at any other time indicating them having feelings for each other?" Kinana asked.

"Well, no - but they might have just been doing it behind closed doors," Donna pointed out.

"Well," Sarah suddenly interjected, having moved over to listen in, and everyone looked at the bartender in curiosity. "I didn't know her for long, but Kenzie Black came off as a bit of a . ." She eyed Kinana's innocent face. "Well, I don't think she has a lot of reservations about who she touches and how and I doubt it means anything to her,"

"I don't care about how Kenzie feels. What matters is that Artorias was kissing her," Donna hotly explained. Her grip tightened around her omnipresent wand, and her Celestial Keys jangled.

"Oh. Well, did you see how it happened? You don't know who instigated it," Kinana pointed out.

Donna frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I mean, maybe not . ." She sighed. "I thought we had something, you know? We spent three months together, training for the Games. Just him, me and his pet wolf. I thought that meant something . . but now I don't know. Am I just a guildmate to him?"

Kinana and Sarah drew breath to reassure her, but Erik had had enough. "You girls can gossip all you want, but I'm out of patience. Hey, Artorias!" he yelled, attracting the attention of the Blood Wizard from across the street. "Who's the most important girl in your life?"

Artorias blinked, paused for a second, before responding at a low volume that Erik could easily hear. "What's it to you?"

The snake charmer grinned. "Nevermind!" he added, turning back to the girls. "In order; Sif, Donna, Tyria, Master Feng, then he started thinking about why I was asking,"

Donna blushed. Kinana grinned. "Notice Kenzie Black wasn't on that list?" Sarah triumphantly pointed out.

"Wait . . so you're saying that my biggest rival isn't the sexy pirate, but his pet wolf?" the swaddled witch blinked.

"Basically," Erik nodded.

"Unless it's in ascending order," the purplette mischievously teased.

"Don't even joke about that," Donna frowned, and Sarah nodded disapproval. Kinana just shrugged coquettishly and tried not to smile.

-[CoT]-

"Oh, hey there, Ariel. How's the oh so special Nagato doing?" Asakura's simpering voice came from the screen.

Ariel glared at her psychopathic cohort. "Stuck on call centre duty, I take it?" she stifled a smile.

Asakura growled. "For a year! Just because I tried to kill Pierce . . honestly, it would have worked out. If we kill one of them, it'll provoke the others into gaining strength that much more quickly. Then they'll be able to destroy the Canopy for us all the sooner,"

Ariel glared. "We are not having this conversation again. Honestly, I don't know why Cardinal doesn't just boot you out of the Overmind altogether," Well, she did, actually . . the image of Asakura betraying them and joining the Canopy was a terrifying one. At least, as long as she was a blue TFEI, she wasn't too likely to go on a spree of mass murders - actually, was it even possible for a TFEI to switch sides? As far as she knew none had ever tried . .

"He just likes me too much," Asakura beamed, before pouting. "Not as much as he likes you, though,"

Ariel couldn't resist smiling at this, but shook her head and remained professional. "Enough chitchat, to business. Team Pierce recently had their first encounter with a TFEI. An agent of the Canopy," she explained. "My grasp of the events is limited at present, but it seems to have ended badly. This is conducive to our preparations for Full Revolution, however at present Phoenix's Eye does not understand that there are TFEI who are not affiliated with the Canopy. I am uncertain how to proceed. I would also like to report that canon character Erik has joined Phoenix's Eye in an official capacity, as well as two yokai and a new character who has a touch of red TFEI about him,"

Asakura blinked. "Do you think the Canopy's trying to infiltrate Phoenix's Eye?"

Ariel frowned. "I don't know. The subject, Cal Jones', extradimensional magic signature is extraordinarily weak, less than 10% that of an average TFEI. However, if he were some kind of attempt by the Canopy to optimise a TFEI for stealth as we can, I would expect his extradimensional magic to be completely imperceptible like mine. I believe something else is going on,"

Suddenly, the speakers in the summoned screen crackled, and a voice that was all at once high, low, old, young, and completely alien, spoke. **"Could there be a hitherto-unknown third faction?"** Cardinal directly asked.

"No. The residual magic I detected on Calvin Jones is identifiable as matching that used by the Canopy," Ariel was completely certain about that.

 **"That is not definitive proof that he is not part of a third faction using TFEI agents. Do not reveal your nature. Monitor the situation and gather intelligence on Team Pierce's encounter with the Canopy, as well as Calvin Jones,"** Cardinal commanded. **"Dismissed,"**

Ariel nodded and, with an idle wave, shut the screen down. Cardinal's instruction made sense; revealing herself to Phoenix's Eye as a TFEI, when they had already known her for a while, would invite awkward questions and cause them to see her as untrustworthy. Especially if they found out she'd been altering their memories for years to hide her immortality. And she already had a plan for how to get close to Cal.

-[CoT]-

Fleur frowned, taking in the sight before her.

Cal was sitting at Team Pierce's table with Pierce and Grace, eating lunch and animatedly chatting. This in itself wasn't too unusual.

The unusual part was that Ariel was sitting at the next table over, not-so-discreetly watching the three through the folds of a newspaper. The paper, as it happened, was being held in place by Water magic (and slowly disintegrating as a result) while she scribbled notes in a language Fleur didn't recognise.

Frowning, she tapped Ariel on the shoulder from behind her chair. The bluenette started, looking at her with the eyes of a particularly jumpy rabbit.

As it happened, Fleur knew that Ariel was fluent in several languages, including sign language. So, with a flurry of motions from her hands, she questioned, _"What are you doing?"_

"Spying," Ariel furtively whispered back.

The silver-haired nineteen-year-old took a seat next to the younger girl - come to think of it, Fleur didn't know Ariel's exact age. If she were to hazard a guess, though, she'd say fifteen - and peered at her notes, but they were in an incomprehensible alphabet. _"In code?"_ her dancing hands asked.

"It's Ancient Shandoran, a language I'm certain no one else in this town can read . . except maybe Levy McGarden," Ariel frowned thoughtfully. "Point is, no one knows what this says but me,"

 _"Why are you spying on the new kid?"_

Ariel flushed. "None of your business," she squeaked, silently wondering; 'Did I get that right? Should I have stuttered more? Doesn't matter, she's buying it,'

Fleur cast her a knowing look. _"Do you think he's cute?"_

"Definitely none of your business!"

 _"Well, then what does that say?"_ she inquisitively asked.

Ariel pointedly looked away, refocusing on Cal.

The Petal Mage tapped her shoulder, drawing her attention. _"Tell me,"_

The greenette disregarded her.

Fleur tapped again, and Ariel glared at her. _"Tell me or I go over there and get Totomaru to tell them exactly what you're doing,"_

Ariel sighed. "I'm transcribing their conversation and making notes,"

 _"That's intrusive. Have they said anything interesting?"_

"Hypocrite," the secret TFEI scoffed. "Cal's just been asking lots of questions about their magic styles," 'Was he gathering intelligence,' she wondered. 'Had the Canopy dispatched him to gather information about the Phoenixes' fighting styles?'

 _"Makes sense. He probably wants to learn to mimic them,"_ Fleur's fingers mused.

Ariel frowned. "Excuse me?"

As if to settle the matter, a grey magic circle appeared in front of Cal, and he declared; "Mimic! Reality Dragon's Roar!" before blowing a significantly weaker version of Grace's attack upwards.

Ariel's eyes widened in realisation. Cal's magic was the ability to duplicate other forms of magic. Some kind of variant on Rufus' Memory Maker Magic. That was why he had a faint taint of the Canopy; he must have Mimicked the magic of the red TFEI he had encountered.

Cardinal would be relieved. This boy probably didn't understand at all what he had gotten his hands on. The chance that he would become a threat was statistically insignificant.

Ariel dimly became aware of Fleur poking her. She turned to her guildmate with an irritated frown. "What?"

 _"Do you think his magic is sexy?"_ the other witch smiled with a triumphant look in her eyes, having totally misinterpreted why Ariel had briefly lost all focus after seeing Cal's magic.

"Wha - no!" she squeaked, a little louder than she had intended, and was rewarded with Pierce, Grace and Cal all turning and staring at her.

As if on cue, her Water magic finally soaked through the newspaper and it collapsed in a shower of wet confetti, revealing her notebook.

Ariel stood and left the table. "I have to go check on something at the Nest!" she squeakily declared and ran off. The four Phoenixes watched her go, and Fleur guiltily reflected that perhaps she had pried a little too much.

-[CoT]-

"So, to conclude, I am reasonably certain that Cal Jones is not affiliated with the Canopy, nor is he a threat to us. As a new member of Phoenix's Eye, it is substantially more likely that he will be just as useful a weapon against the Canopy as any other member of Phoenix's Eye," Ariel reported.

Asakura eyed her, the picture of boredom. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh,"

Ariel resisted the urge to let her irritation show.

 **"Excellent work,"** Cardinal's barely-comprehensible voice echoed through the screen. **"You also ought to be made aware that I have determined the best course of action through which to ensure Phoenix's Eye is open to working with us, rather than blindly opposing both TFEI factions. I am assigning a new agent to work the Phoenix's Eye mission alongside you,"**

Ariel's breath caught in her throat. "You - a new - but . . Phoenix's Eye is my mission. It's been my mission for decades," she weakly protested. "No one knows this guild like I do,"

 **"Is that an issue, Operative Aerial?"** Cardinal's transdimensional voice somehow conveyed disapproval.

The TFEI blinked, and bowed her head. "No, sir," Aerial minutely nodded.

 **"Good. Rest assured, TFEI B/0297 will not be directly joining Phoenix's Eye,"** Ariel couldn't stop herself from involuntarily gasping at the name. **"Is there an issue?"**

"Is - is that right, sir? Oh-two-nine-seven?" the bluenette repeated. "There . . there's only two hundred and ninety-six TFEI in the Overmind,"

 **"There have been beneficial complications that have allowed us to create exactly one additional TFEI,"** Cardinal sounded impatient. Aerial knew she had kept him for long enough. **"Further questions?"**

"None, sir. I look forward to meeting B/0297," Her tone was not as measured as she would have liked, but Cardinal didn't seem to care.

 **"Anticipate her arrival during the Tartaros arc. Dismissed,"**

Ariel nodded and closed the window, noting with some satisfaction that Asakura had been about to say something but cut off before she could. She sat on top of a box in the storage room and stilled her breathing. A new TFEI . . there had always been five hundred and ninety-two TFEI exactly. Two-ninety-six with Cardinal and the Overmind System, two-ninety-six with the Sky

Canopy Dominion. That was how it had worked out, that was how it had always been.

She let herself smile. There was a new TFEI, and they were a blue, like her and Yuki and . . hopefully not like Asakura. That meant they had the advantage. That might even mean that Cardinal might be able to mass-produce TFEI. If the Overmind System could assault the Canopy with an army of thousands, or even millions of TFEI, that . . . _that would make her redundant._

Ariel banished the selfish thought, but it rubbed at her brain discomfortingly. If Cardinal could make more TFEI, then what was she, Aerial, Ariel, worth to him?

"Calm down," Ariel told herself. "He said he only made one more. Just one. One more TFEI won't be a problem, right? . . . Right?"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Right, Ariel. Sure.**

 **Nothing much to say about this chapter, mostly just stuff happening between arcs. Peace!**


	60. Aliens & Demons & More Aliens, Oh My!

**Chapter 131: Aliens & Demons & More Aliens, Oh My!**

 **Now, I'm sure those of you who can count have noticed that this is not, in fact, Chapter 130. There is a simple explanation for this; Chapter 130 got . . complicated, and I haven't actually finished it yet. What I get for writing parts of the story out of order and procrastinating for a month . . point is, it'll be finished soon, and when it is I'll post it and then edit the chapter order when I get to the next update. In the meantime, let's start the Tarty party!**

 **. . . I regret saying that . .**

 **A/N**

A/N

"Hey. Kid. Are you coming or what?" Jackal growled. The Etherious lashed his tail in irritation.

His companion climbed over the last tree in their path. "I am hundreds of years old," he retorted, adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah, so am I. That don't mean jack shit," the blond snorted.

His companion was a tall, black-haired man with spectacles and a suit. "You have to appreciate that this is not exactly my preferred terrain," he huffed.

"Well, we're here now. So why don't you stop wasting time by running your mouth," Jackal rolled his eyes. "Or does the great, immortal TFEI love the sound of his own voice so much he can't bear to stop talking?"

"I've told you before, just call me Fifty-Four," the other man instructed. "We seem to have arrived," Fifty-Four added.

"Still a stupid name. Don't any of your lot have any personality?" Jackal scoffed, looking up at the massive, cylindrical mesa before them. At the flattened peak sat a tall building, the headquarters of the Magic Council. "Well, no reason to delay," With that, he leapt upwards, flying into the air and reaching the top of the mountain in an instant.

The Etherious landed on the headquarters' rear battlement and got his bearings, surprising a guard. "Uh - who are you?" he demanded, pointing a spear at him.

Jackal decided he wasn't worth talking to and slapped a claw on the blade of his spear. "Explosion," he hissed, pouring his Curse into the object, and the soldier's guts splattered across the walkway.

A couple of attendants who had been close enough to witness the event immediately screamed and fled. Jackal let them go; they'd die in a moment anyway. Now, what would be the best thing to blow up to make sure every single member of the Council died? . . . Trick question. The answer, of course, was _EVERYTHING_.

He slammed his palms down on the stone and his curse rapidly spread, suffusing every inch of the entire complex with glowing light. For the briefest second, the Magic Council Headquarters lit up like a Christmas tree . . and then it all exploded with a blinding burst of power, debris flying in every direction, attendants and guards and everyone except Jackal vanishing in the explosive force.

He landed easily in the debris and immediately searched the rubble. Fifty-Four had warned him that at least one member of the council would survive the blast, and . . there! Master Org, he thought.

Jackal pounced, his fist slamming the trapped councilman's head into the dirt and smiling ferally. "You can't be alive. Killing all of you was the whole point. Your pals played along but I guess you need some convincing," Gold light played across his claws. "Explosion,"

"Damn you!" a voice interrupted, and Jackal looked up to see a guard lying before him. He shrugged. Unimportant.

"Doranbolt. Run away," the councilman growled.

"I can't do that!" Doranbolt protested, and Jackal cocked an eyebrow. Doranbolt?

"There's no reason for you to die with the rest of us," Org commanded.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but there's no running from my explosions," Jackal hissed.

"Leave, do it now!"

"I'm bored," Jackal hissed, and with a burst of Curse, the councilman's head exploded.

When the light cleared, there was someone in front of him.

Doranbolt looked up, realising he had been saved from the blast. "Th-thank you," he looked up at the unfamiliar man in a suit who had shielded him from the blast with his body. "Who are you?"

Fifty-Four turned, light flashing off his glasses. "Don't thank me yet," he scoffed, and suddenly red smog burst out of his body, wrapping around Doranbolt's body and hoisting him into the air. The man's skin and clothes blistered, splitting and disintegrating, and a metal mask appeared from inside his skull, with red lights forming eyes and a mouth. Doranbolt screamed, shocked by the visage of the TFEI.

 ** _"Subject l0cated. 1n1t1at1ng fluctl1ght dupl1cat10n,"_** Fifty-Four droned, and red lights shot from its eyes and scanned Doranbolt. The magic resolved back into skin, forming cloth and hair and quickly forming into an exact copy of the man.

"Whoa. That was intense," Jackal nodded in approval.

"We may not be as flashy as you Etherious, but the TFEI have some tricks," Fifty-Four snorted. "Now, to dispose of the original," With a wave of his hand, a portal opened under Doranbolt's feet, and with a final scream, the man sunk into it.

"Why do you care so much about infiltrating Fairy Tail, anyway?" Jackal asked, honestly curious. "I know what you said, that that guy is a secret member of Fairy Tail who was spying on the Magic Council for them, but . . so what?"

Fifty-Four/Doranbolt snorted. "Fairy Tail is more important than you can possibly comprehend," he replied. "Now, let's see if Mest's Magic is working for me," he muttered, before suddenly vanishing.

Irritated, Jackal waited for a moment, but quickly realised he wasn't coming back. "Fine! I'll just go kill my next target! Damn aliens . ."

-[CoT]-

It had been almost three months since Erik, Siria, Yurei and Cal had joined the Phoenix's Eye Wizarding Guild.

Incidentally, that made it the longest stretch of time since Tyria had joined the guild with no major life-threatening events transpiring. (Time travel notwithstanding.) Of course, there was the day-to-day peril that was the life of a guild wizard, but there were no hunters bent on genocide, no immortal monsters, no shadowy cabals trying to take control of time. (She still could hardly believe that had happened _twice_.)

Life was good, Tyria reflected one morning at the guild. Life was quiet.

She was going to jinx it, wasn't she? Any minute now, something catastrophic would happen and put the entire guild at risk.

As if on cue, the door swung open, and the outside light shining in briefly dazzled Tyria. She squinted, focusing on the arriving figures.

It was just Fleur, Eve and Blanca. Blanca, as usual, was shouting about something. Eve was trying to pacify her, and Fleur was . . gesturing to someone.

Tyria frowned, seeing a short girl with pale skin and long black hair stumble through the door, a vacant look in her eyes. She was wearing a large black coat, and looked . . plain. She raised her head and looked around the guild, but the Electrian had the impression that she wasn't really seeing any of it.

Suddenly, but predictably, Pierce was there. "Hey," he looked at the girl, who seemed only slightly older than Grace, before questioningly eyeing the three witches. "Who's this?"

"Suou," the girl in question mumbled. Fleur made to sign something, then paused, remembering Pierce didn't know sign language, and pulled out a notebook. Eve began, "Well, um, we found her in the street, and -"

"I'm the best at explaining so I'll explain!" Blanca snapped. "We found her in the street and she was mumbling and blocking my path and I was just going to leave her but then she said -"

"TF . . EI," Suou, assuming that was her name, mumbled. And somehow the word was louder than Blanca's shouting.

Pierce stiffened. "You know something about TFEI? What?" he urgently demanded.

"Damaged," Suou blankly stared at him with unfocused eyes.

"What's going on?" Tyria had joined the discussion.

"Round up everyone who's here. I think we'll all want to hear this," Pierce declared.

-[CoT]-

"You know something about those monsters?" Cal immediately demanded. Some members, including Boomer and Siria, were out on jobs, and as usual Faraday was nowhere to be found, but Master and the rest of the S-Class wizards, as well as the remainder of Team Pierce, were all present.

Fleur signed something, which Totomaru translated. "She's not much of a talker. She might have some kind of mental problem,"

Suou minutely nodded. "Damaged," she quietly agreed. "Ostracised . . ignored . . useless,"

"Who are you talking about?" Master Feng questioned, eyeing the girl closely.

"Mental problem sounds right. Her thoughts are scrambled. I can barely comprehend them," Erik reported.

"I . . ran, I . . couldn't take it . . the Canopy . . the others . . worthless to them . . not to you,"

"Wait," It suddenly hit Tyria. "Are _you_ a TFEI?" Everyone blinked at this, and were even more shocked when Suou weakly nodded.

"You're one of them?!" Cal growled, but Pierce put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold on,"

"You don't want to be part of their group anymore, though, do you?" Master questioned, soothingly rubbing Suou's back. She was rewarded with a head-shake. "Cold," she mumbled. "You're all . . so bright . . and they're . . I'm . . so cold," She reached a shivering, halting hand out towards Pierce, but her limb suddenly went limp and fell back to her side.

"I don't trust her," No one expected Ariel to pipe up, and several Phoenixes looked at her in surprise. "Suou, was it? If you're a TFEI, show us your real form. That red smoke with the mask we've all heard about,"

"Hold on, are we sure that's wise?" Master Feng questioned, but Suou was already nodding vacantly. Everyone watched in reviled fascination as her skin and clothes peeled away, hair spontaneously combusting. Smoke coloured a sickly pink shade rippled outwards, and her face disintegrated, revealing a metal mask with jagged eye holes.

Everyone gasped, shocked by the sight of the TFEI's true form. But those who were familiar with the sight gasped for a different reason.

There was a massive crack running through Suou's metal mask-face. A jagged gash that crossed from her chin to her left eye, with an iron plate joining the two broken halves together. The pink magic of her body danced around erratically, sometimes spasming out into spikes or collapsing into little eddies, like a lacrima-vision with a bad signal.

Just as quickly, the TFEI shrunk back downwards, her human shell reforming with its eyes shut and hands clutching her chest.

"That was unexpected," Sarph mumbled.

Ariel looked conflicted. TFEI were supposed to be indestructible . . Suou was damaged. Some kind of fundamental flaw in her design that was beyond repair, most likely. Was she so mistreated by the Canopy for her defect that she had been driven to betrayal? This was surprising . . this was unprecedented! Cardinal had to be made aware.

"So that's a TFEI," Totomaru mumbled, looking surprised.

Suou clutched her chest, choked out a repetition of "Damaged," and promptly threw up all over Phoenix's Eye.

Pierce, Cal, Tyria, Blanca and Eve all took a moment to process the fact that they were covered in TFEI vomit. Cal in particular regarded the pink fluid with irritation. "This is not endearing me towards TFEIs," he growled.

"Let's go shower," Tyria agreed.

As the five traipsed off, Sarph took over the interrogation. "So, what can you tell us about the Sky Canopy Dominion?"

Suou's head slowly turned, and she raised a trembling finger, indicating Artorias. "Me?" the Blood Wizard blinked.

"You have . ." The damaged girl stumbled over the words. Everyone looked at Artorias in surprise. Was he a TFEI hiding among them? "Very . . pretty eyes,"

Several wizards fell over in shock, including Lync, Master and Erik. "That's not relevant!" Blanca snapped.

"Oh. Well, thank you," Artorias replied, looking unsure of how to take the compliment. Donna, meanwhile, seemed to be stifling the impulse to put a new crack in Suou's hidden metal face.

"What about the Canopy?" Sarph pressed.

"Can't . . tell . . show," Suou mumbled. She took a halting step forwards, then another, making for the door with an unsteady gait.

"You want to show us something," Master Feng surmised.

"I'll go with her," Alice suddenly piped up. "So will I," Ariel agreed, still eyeing Suou suspiciously.

"You're not going anywhere without me," Lync informed his girlfriend, and Fleur also stepped forwards, nodding resolutely. "You're going?" Totomaru questioned, surprised.

In response, the mute Petal witch nodded and signed, _"I brought her to the guild, she's my responsibility,"_

Totomaru nodded his understanding. _"Well, I'm coming with you,"_

"That seems like a full group to me," Feng declared. Artorias raised an eyebrow. "None of them are powerhouses," he pointed out. "If they run into trouble . ."

"Don't forget, Masquerade's on that team too," the guildmaster retorted, and her strongest brat nodded, conceding the point.

"Guys, she's getting away," Lync pointed out, and everyone turned to see Suou already at the door to the guild hall and still walking.

"We have our mission, then. Follow the mysterious girl!" Alice smiled, determined, and took point, the other four members of the team falling in behind her. The rest of Phoenix's Eye watched them go, and the doors swung shut.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Sarph asked.

"I'm sure of it. That girl is an enigma, but I didn't sense any malice from her," Feng assured him.

Pierce suddenly rejoined the group, Tyria in tow. "What did we miss?"

-[CoT]-

Lahar didn't know what had happened. Everything seemed fine, then that man with a tail appeared and . . and now he was buried under a mountain of rubble.

He couldn't feel his right leg. He was pretty certain that he'd cracked at least a couple of ribs, and his left arm was not only trapped under a girder, but he was fairly certain that it wasn't supposed to bend like that.

It suddenly hit him that he was dying.

"What a pathetic way to die," Lahar mumbled to himself. His right arm still worked, and he felt his face. Somehow his glasses had survived, and he pulled them off, setting them in front of him. For all his life he'd worked with the Magic Council. He'd tried to make a difference, to do good . . but it had led to this. It was all gone in a flash. Was his life really so insignificant that he could wake up one morning totally satisfied that today would be a day like any other, and now suddenly there was nothing left but a slow, painful death?

"Is this how you want your life to end? Off-screen, gone in an instant by the whim of someone incomparably more powerful than you?"

"No . . no, this isn't right! This isn't fair . . there has to be something more I can do," Lahar was fairly certain that he'd lost enough blood that he was hallucinating. Because it sounded like there was some sourceless, female, almost familiar voice talking to him.

"There _is,_ " Suddenly, his vision was filled with blue light. Lahar gasped, instinctively covering his eyes.

When he opened them, there was someone before him. A woman, only with glittering blue skin, transparent and glowing, with faint patterns of green and purple light underneath. Her eyes were bright, white expanses with tiny pinpricks like stars within them, and a pair of wide, blue-white wings like those of a butterfly were spread behind her, while a whip-like, feline tail stiffly twitched behind her.

Lahar suddenly realised what was going on. "Are you an angel?" he mumbled. That had to be it. He had died and this angel had come to take his soul to the afterlife.

She giggled. "No. Good guess, though. You can call me Fairy Blue,"

"Right," the councilman mumbled.

She knelt down, and extended a hand. "Take my hand," Fairy Blue encouraged him.

"So we can go to the afterlife? Yeah, alright . ." Lahar semi-coherently mumbled, slapping at the blue woman's palm.

"Nope, not the afterlife. This world's not done with you yet, Lahar. And I'm going to need your help," Fairy Blue's see-through fingers wrapped around his, and everything turned white.

A/N

 **A/N**

 **So! This chapter (which ended up shorter than I wanted), we have two new TFEIs!**

 **Also, I just want to make it clear that no, not ALL of the blue TFEI like Ariel, Yuki, Asakura, Yui and yes, Fairy Blue, are female. It's just the way things worked out - Yui, Yuki and Asakura are all characters from other shows who came female, and honestly I created Ariel before coming up with any of the super-spy time alien mystery stuff. And Fairy Blue has to be female because [SPOILERS]. Trust me, I've thought everything out and it's all very complicated but the skewed gender ratio is a necessary side effect.**

 **Although TFEI are technically genderless . . and Cardinal's male . . a case could be made that Cardinal finds the idea of an all-girl organisation appealing . . I won't say that's canon but I also won't say it isn't. Peace!**


	61. Why You Don't Betray the Canopy

**Chapter 132: Why You Don't Betray the Canopy**

 ** _Previously, on "Crowns of Thorns" . . ._**

 _"_ _I'm the best at explaining so I'll explain!" Blanca snapped. "We found her in the street and she was mumbling and blocking my path and I was just going to leave her but then she said -"_

 _"_ _TF . . EI," Suou mumbled._

 _Smoke coloured a sickly pink shade rippled outwards, and her face disintegrated, revealing a metal mask with jagged eye holes. There was a massive crack running through Suou's face. A jagged gash that crossed from her chin to her left eye, before running across her forehead, with a metal plate joining the two broken halves together._

 _Ariel looked conflicted. TFEI were supposed to be indestructible . . Suou was damaged. Some kind of fundamental flaw in her design that was beyond repair, most likely. Was she so mistreated by the Canopy for her defect that she had been driven to betrayal? This was surprising . . this was unprecedented!_

 _"_ _Can't . . tell . . show," Suou mumbled. She took a halting step forwards, then another, making for the door with an unsteady gait._

 _"_ _We have our mission, then. Follow the mysterious girl!" Alice smiled, determined, and took point, the other four members of the team falling in behind her._

 _-[CoT]-_

"How much further is it?" Lync whined.

Suou had led the five Phoenixes across town to the train station and onto a train that had been just about to depart. They had spent all day and most of the night riding the train northbound across Fiore, through and around the mountains, before disembarking under the light of a weak, watery sun at a run-down station in the middle of, as Ariel put it, Nowhere, North Fiore.

"Actually, this region is called the Pathless Plain. It's a large stretch of farmland attached to the far side of the mountains in North Fiore," Alice perfunctorily explained.

"Hurry up," Totomaru had interrupted, gesturing to Suou, who was already exiting the train station, disregarding the established road and forging into the middle of nowhere.

That had been an hour ago, and they had been following her through knee-high grass ever since. And Lync was sick of it.

"Why do they call it the Pathless Plain, anyway?" Totomaru questioned. "We saw a road earlier,"

"At night, a fog rolls in. In the fog, it's easy to lose all sense of direction. You can be walking along a path one minute and lose track of all sense of direction in an instant," Ariel answered on Alice's behalf.

"I'm surprised you know that," the orangette offered the bluenette.

"I've been here a couple of times, on a job," Ariel didn't feel the need to add that the job in question had occurred before anyone present had been born. And also hadn't been Phoenix's Eye business but more of the immortal secret agent variety.

Fleur turned to Totomaru and signed something, which he repeated. "Well, Suou seems to know where she's going. So as long as we follow her it'll be fine,"

"You have Aluze, right?" Alice suddenly checked. Lync nodded, patting the pocket that contained his Mechanical Bakugan. "Always. Hydranoid?

"Haven't heard from him in a month," Alice admitted, looking glum.

"We'll be fine," Lync assured his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Ariel was deep in thought. While on the train, she had hidden in the toilet and opened a call to the Data Overmind.

-[CoT]-

"You again?" Asakura had looked like there was a sour lemon stuck in her throat.

Ariel cut straight to the point. "There is a red TFEI traitor attempting to liaison with Phoenix's Eye and betray the Canopy,"

The psychopathic TFEI sat bolt upright. "What?"

 **"** **Impossible."** Ariel suspected that nothing had ever gotten Cardinal's attention so quickly. **"TFEI agents are hardwired to be loyal to their faction above all else. That is one of the primary reasons that the leader of the Canopy and I use TFEI agents rather than mortals."**

"I am aware, sir. My first instinct is to expect her betrayal, however there is an extenuating circumstance to consider; TFEI Suou - I don't yet know her numerical designation," Ariel hastily added, "is defective. She has demonstrated irreparable damage to both her internal and external functions. I feel we ought to account for the possibility that her damage may have generated a programming defect,"

 **"** **It would be remiss of me to dismiss the possibility out of hand."** Cardinal admitted. **"Current status?"**

"I am travelling with four other members of Phoenix's Eye; Lync, Alice, Fleur and Totomaru, to follow Suou to something that she wishes to show us," Ariel reported.

"Sounds like you're gonna die!" Asakura sounded far too happy about that.

 **"** **Be cautious. The initial events of the Tartaros arc are transpiring as we speak. This cannot be a coincidence."** Cardinal informed her. **"Maintain your cover. I will alert B/0297, she is active and will soon be available to assist you. Maintain standard procedure of only breaking cover if it will save the life of a Phoenix's Eye member. Other questions?"**

"None, sir," Ariel nodded.

 **"** **Dismissed."**

-[CoT]-

Presently, Suou led the five Phoenixes to a cleared area in the plain. The ground underfoot was bereft of grass and dry, but it seemed unremarkable otherwise. "Here," the damaged TFEI mumbled.

"What's here?" Ariel asked. There was a prickling on the back of her neck. She could sense extradimensional magic, but couldn't pinpoint it.

Suou raised a hand. "TFEI R/278. Requesting access to . ." she momentarily trailed off, struggling to get the words out. "Facility 8," she finally managed to mumble.

A pulse of red light appeared in the air. "TFEI R/278 recognised. Access granted," a voice spoke, and a glowing red doorway appeared before her. Red lines spread outwards from the door, curving and twisting, spreading upwards and downwards and forming the outlines of walls and windows. The holographic shapes gained form and distinction, resolving into maroon walls, building a large, circular building with three towers raised above the ground floor. Each tower was rimmed with a row of square windows that flickered with yellow light and projected a large letter 'R' onto the glass, but the central tower reached above the two that flanked it and its uppermost level billowed outwards like a mushroom.

The Phoenixes looked up in bemusement. ". . Okay," Lync finally spoke.

"So this is a Canopy bass of operations?" Ariel was ecstatic. This was a huge find; if Cardinal sent in a strike team of blue TFEI, they could discover all sorts of things about the Canopy and their plans. And with Full Revolution drawing closer with every passing day, they needed every advantage.

Suou traipsed in, the five Phoenixes following her. "Gauntlet, Power Strike," Lync activated the machine that boosted his magic.

"Canopy . . Tapes," the traitorous TFEI mumbled as they emerged into a large central room. The room had a large triangular pillar in the centre, and a door on both the left side and the right side of the building.

"Tapes?" Alice parroted.

"Recordings," Suou mumbled. "Knowledge of the days to come . . or a version of them," With her jerky motions, she moved towards the left door, making to open it.

There was a sudden mechanical whirring noise, and the triangular pillar began to retract downwards. Suou froze, not looking, as the top of the pillar reached the ground, revealing itself to actually be an elevator. "R/101 . . no," she mumbled loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Standing on the platform was a figure whose skin was bright yellow, almost golden. Unlike the other TFEI they had encountered, this one was making no attempt to appear human. His limbs were long and thin, with orange patterns on his shoulders and a four-pointed star on his chest. His face was flat, and painted with a circle that had three spikes at the bottom and an arrow pointing upwards at the top. His eyes were set into the left and right sides of the circle, glowing yellow rubies that had neither iris nor pupil, and a spike protruded from either side of his head, the left one curving up and the right arcing down, which combined with the circular shape of his head to resemble a spinning galaxy, frozen. "Oh, come now, Suou. Is that really a fitting introduction for me?"

"A TFEI?" Totomaru asked.

"That's Temporally Fluctuated Entity Interface to you, human," the golden TFEI spat. "I suppose I should not be surprised that a pathetic little glitch like R/278 is incapable of introducing me properly," He pressed a fist to his chest, and golden electricity burst outwards from his body, flashing and forming into two massive golden blades that sprouted from the floor of the elevator and framed his form. His eyes glinted with menace. "I am Lightning, First Lieutenant of the Sky Canopy Dominion! I am the flash that strikes down from the heavens to scour this world of the filth that has infested it so that it might become a worthy gift to present to our master! Grovel for your lives, you pitiful mortals!"

The Phoenixes were instantly on edge. They could tell from the radiating magic that this foe was powerful, significantly more so than Suou, or, indeed, most any enemy they had encountered before. And he didn't seem like he was going to be talked down.

"R/278," Lightning turned to Suou, who stood bolt upright, still looking away, as though her spine were suddenly being measured against a ruler. "You think you're so clever, bringing them to a disused base, to tell them our secrets,"

"You . . here - why?" Suou choked out.

"Clockwork expected this. He _knew_ you were going to betray us. He planned for it," Sadistic pleasure oozed from Lightning's words. "Of course I'm here. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to punish you for this if it cost me my whole collection. Kill them," he gestured to the five Phoenixes.

Suou was still. It took her a moment, however she managed to wheeze, "But . ."

Lightning's eyes flashed red. "K **1** ll them," he repeated, more forcefully.

Suddenly the damaged TFEI span, and pinkish red crystal burst outwards from her arm. She lunged at the Phoenixes, bringing to bear a warped, twisted and swollen limb that crackled like carbonated water, with a fist reaching out towards Lync and a long spike growing out of her engorged wrist to impale Fleur.

Lync reacted. "Airnvention: Rockets!" he cast, blasting upwards to avoid the assault, while Fleur swept her rapier to deflect the strike.

And then Suou glitched. Her arm flashed with flickers of orange and purple light, passing downwards and partially phasing into the floor while simultaneously reaching upwards, before resolidifying a foot to its owner's right.

Fleur was suddenly deflecting in entirely the wrong direction, a mistake that cost her as the crystalline spike pierced through her left arm.

"Fleur!" Totomaru exclaimed as she silently cried out from the pain. In a flash he brought his fist down on the spike and severed it, an instant before it suddenly went upwards.

Turning their attention back to their assailants, they saw that Suou's ankle had swelled into an obelisk of pink-tinted crystal, lifting her high into the air, which would have been more impressive if not for how much she was wobbling.

"I've got this!" Lync shouted, dive-bombing Suou's support. "Airnvention: -" Unfortunately, whatever he was trying to cast would go unrealised, as Suou's leg spontaneously exploded, showering him with crystals and sending him crashing to the ground. Ethernano gushed from the crystalline stump, sending an electrical charge of glitched magic through the air.

Alice, who had been standing back from the fight, frowned, and a purple circle of Amaterasu Formula appeared in her hands. "This magic doesn't made any sense," she complained.

"I think that's the point. She's broken, so her magic doesn't work properly either. But it doesn't matter," Totomaru stepped forward and threw a globule of adhesive orange fire at Suou's exposed chest as she fell, hoping to knock her into the wall or floor. Instead, though, it washed over her, being sucked up by a burst of pink smoke before exploding out of her stumpy thigh and forming a new prosthetic leg.

"Nothing we do is making a dent!" Lync complained even as he wound up for another attack.

"Fleur! Buy me some time, I'm going to try Rainbow Fire," Totomaru commanded, and the silver-haired witch nodded. Luckily, the injury was to her non-dominant arm, and her rapier only needed one hand to use anyway. She swept her weapon outward and calligraphy painted the words 'PETAL SWORD STYLE' into the side of the blade, flower petals spreading outwards and cloaking her sword to let it grow to a giant size. The behemoth blade swept around in a colourful, aromatic wake, crashing into Suou's floating form.

A scream rent the air, and suddenly the TFEI was a beanpole whose feet and forehead were braced between the floor and ceiling, before snapping in half like a length of wood and crashing to the ground. Both pieces of her body promptly exploded into a cloud of coral-coloured glitter.

For the most fleeting moment, the Phoenixes exchanged grins, but the pink, fizzling magic that had composed Suou's body emerged, swarming towards them like an incoming fog of doom.

Behind them, Lightning laughed. "I suppose even that little glitch is good for something. Suffocate them!"

Lync and Fleur recoiled, retreating to where Alice was observing and Totomaru was building his strongest spell. Ariel, on the other hand, stepped forward. "Fountain!" she invoked, brandishing her fountain pen, and a wall of water appeared to shield her friends from the fog. Suou battered against the barricade as it spread upwards and outwards, but found herself unable to get through.

Ariel grinned. Cardinal might have ordered her not to use her TFEI powers except as a last resort, but she still had a few mundane tricks. "I can't hold this forever," she warned her fellow Phoenixes. "Make it fast, Totom-"

She choked on her own words as several thousand volts of electricity suddenly coursed through her barricade, lancing through her metal Holder Magic pen and into her body, a burn spreading across her arm. Twitching uncontrollably, Ariel collapsed, and the Water Magic disintegrated.

"Not bad," Lightning didn't sound impressed. "But you all aren't going to win this fight no matter what. Your lives are mere spectacles for my amusement. I won't have my fun delayed,"

"Ariel!" Alice shrieked, but Lync cautioned her. "We'll get her, we just have to beat these two,"

"There's a problem," Totomaru warned them both as Suou advanced. Coils of her smoky body wrapped around Ariel's prone form and dragged the unconscious girl with her. "I can't shoot Rainbow Fire with Ariel that close, she'll get caught in the blast," It went unspoken that, assuming she wasn't already dead, exposure to such magic might kill their guildmate.

Meanwhile, inside her own head, Ariel was fighting to move. Upon being electrocuted, her body seemed to have shorted out. Whatever Lightning had hit her with, it must have been an attack specifically designed to incapacitate TFEIs - she was supposed to be resistant to electricity. Had he seen through her disguise? Or was he just that indiscriminate with his spells?

"Then - then target him!" Lync's declaration was spur-of-the-moment as he gestured to Lightning, but even a mere couple of seconds' thought proved the validity of his suggestion. Lightning was obviously the bigger threat; furthermore, he was puppetmastering Suou. If he were taken out, they might be able to pacify the malfunctioning TFEI traitor.

Totomaru swivelled and prepared to release - until a bolt of electricity caught him in the face. "You are, of course, aware that I can _hear_ you," Lightning pointed out in a silky tone as he stumbled backwards, losing his grip on the spell, which vanished in a flicker of colourful light. His head pounded, but he wasn't out of it yet.

Suddenly, Suou lunged, like a predator pouncing on its next meal, targeting all four arrayed humans with a powerful ground slam.

Unlike the others, though, Fleur had never taken her eyes off Suou. As she charged, the silverette brandished her rapier and the petals spreading from her arms and blade turned gold, spreading outwards into a wall. 'AEGIS OF PETALS' flashed down her rapier blade, and the pink smog met the wall of petals and wind, bouncing off once again.

"What did I say about delaying?" Lightning roared, gesturing with his hand and throwing a bolt of his namesake at the Phoenix.

He'd made a mistake, though. As a metal object, the voltage was naturally guided to the steel of Fleur's blade.

The blade that had left her hand and was flying upwards into the air.

Green petals exploded from her feet, and Fleur flew underneath the bolt of corrupt magic as it twisted unerringly towards her abandoned weapon, and red blossoms burst from her sleeve, spreading and swelling until her right hand was swollen to the size of a giant's. She twisted her body as she lunged, tucking her injured arm behind her and gritting her teeth to push through the pain. Her strike hit true, punching Lightning off his feet and straight into the ground.

Behind her, the rapier, glowing red-hot and crackling from the energy it had just absorbed, hit the floor with a clang. Fleur couldn't help herself, she glanced back to assess the condition of her most prized possession. It looked somewhat singed, but not much the worse for wear.

Her surrender to temptation, though, cost her. A corona of golden energy wrapped around her neck and lifted her into the air, restricting her airflow. The Phoenix's cheeks turned red. "You impudent human," Lightning growled as he levitated back to his feet, unrestrained fury painted over his face.

Ariel, even in her state of paralysis, couldn't help but roll her eyes. Was he seriously _Force choking_ Fleur? This Lightning person was trying far too hard.

"Hey, Lightning," Heads across the room swivelled to focus on Lync. But he had changed, metal crossing his skin. His Airnvention: Plating was coming into full effect. "Eat this!" he roared, rocketing forwards and, like Fleur, punching him in the face.

However, this time the TFEI was ready. He raised a hand with the toughness of a mountain, effortlessly blocking Lync's attack. "Pathetic," he spat.

"We've got one word to say to you," Lync sneered.

"And what's that?"

Suddenly the boy reversed his position, soaring away and yelling, "Switch!"

Lightning realised a little too late that Totomaru had been building up Rainbow Fire again. With a roar, the Fire wizard released an inferno of multicoloured flames, blinding and roaring and focusing directly on the TFEI. Hope soared in the Phoenix's hearts; this was going to work -

A sword made of electricity batted the attack aside like a home run, sending it flying into the wall.

Magic crackled around the monster's eyes, and he looked around at the humans (and imposter). "I've had quite enough,"

-[CoT]-

"So, did Suou perform as expected?"

Lightning nodded to the man on the screen before him. "She was entirely predictable, master,"

"As expected. Do you have hostages?"

"Five,"

"Excellent. Bring them, and join me on Cube. Phoenix's Eye will undoubtedly aid Fairy Tail during the battle against Tartaros. I've put in a request for more aid from Red One, but I doubt it will be forthcoming,"

"R/004, if I may," Lightning frowned, and his superior raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Why are we bothering to help the demons? We know they failed in the original timeline. Furthermore, we TFEI are made of Ethernano. If FACE is activated, it will assure our demise as surely as that of the protagonists. I don't understand why we should help them,"

The man leaned forward, looking murderous and casting his gaunt face into stark relief. Clockwork gazed menacingly at Lightning. "Choose your words carefully, R/101. Are you saying that you believe maintaining your pitiful existence to be more important than fulfilling the D-eternal Directive?"

"No. Of course not," Lightning hastily shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't want the founder of the Canopy's mission fulfilled. Just . . he kind of didn't want it to be a suicide mission. "I just mean, surely there's a more efficient way of doing it,"

"There was. The Infinity Clock. But we know how that turned out, don't we?" Clockwork coldly replied. "We have a limited number of opportunities to fulfil his Directive. If FACE fails, the Fairy Heart will be the only known remaining opportunity. We are not going to abandon this mission because _you'd rather not die,"_ Scorn dripped from his words. "FACE may be the least efficient method, but it will still sow sufficient chaos. Let the Etherious have their fifteen minutes of glory. They're powerless to stop D-eternal,"

"Yes, master," Lightning nodded, pretending to look ashamed. "So you are certain that we cannot expect assistance from Red One?"

Clockwork sighed, looking discontent. "You know how fickle she is. She wouldn't even permit R/054 to aid us. I understand future-proofing, but does she really think two and a half TFEI will be enough for this mission?"

A frown crossed Lightning's face. "Maybe she doesn't. Maybe she's confident enough in her ability to obtain the Fairy Heart during the Alvarez arc that she's willing to sabotage our operation to get you out of her way. You are his favourite. I doubt she likes that,"

"I wish I could say with certainty that you're wrong," the more human-looking TFEI shook his head. "Well, there's nothing we can do. After all, we have another advantage over Phoenix's Eye,"

Lightning frowned. "What's that?"

A sadistic glint entered Clockwork's eye. "Regykraeon,"

A/N

A/N

 **Clockwork's back! And we have ANOTHER new TFEI! Those of you who are fans of Yu-Gi-Oh might recognise one of the main villains from VRAINS, Lightning!**

 **What? Ariel can Storm Access. Really, you should have expected this. Besides that, I just thought Lightning's near-pathological hatred of humans would be an interesting dynamic to add to a red TFEI. Don't worry, with Lightning the TFEI lineup for this arc is complete. No more new characters. Unless I'm lying. :P**

 **If anyone's curious or wants to get a better idea of what the Canopy Outpost looks like, I based it predominantly on the Rainbow Rocket-ified version of Festival Plaza from Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon. So just imagine that but bigger and more symmetrical. Peace!**


	62. Regykraeon's Revenge

**Chapter 133: Regykraeon's Revenge**

 ** _Previously, on "The Guild Next Door" . . ._**

 _Regykraeon chuckled, before spreading his arms wide. "Alright then, kid! I am Regykraeon "The Fallen Star", demon of the sky and an Etherious of Zeref's Bookshelf!" The Etherious chuckled as his magical presence, already intense, grew to such an extent that it felt like the air itself was made of lead. "Catch me if you can," the monster winked playfully, before flashing away into Ghoulia's main road._

 _In response, Boomer gritted his teeth, pressed down on the accelerator and felt the Sonic Boom fling itself forwards, hot on the speedy demon's tail._

 _~P's E~_

 _"_ _Regykraeon, The Fallen Star, demon of the atmosphere and Etherious of the Black Mage Zeref's creation!" Boomer spoke, the Sonic Boom's Warp-Sound Trap pinning Regykraeon in place, and the speakers amplified his voice._

 _"No! I won't allow this! You haven't won! You won't best me!" Regykraeon shrieked, casting around maniacally for a route of escape._

 _"I hereby condemn thee to imprisonment within these pages, there to remain for all time," Boomer continued, and the demon continued to deny him. "No! There has to be something! There has to be . ." His gaze fell upon the altar, the white lacrima containing the life force of his sacrifices. "Yes! Brother, hear my call! Accept my sacrifice, be reborn and crush our foes!" Regykraeon screamed, diving downwards into the lacrima._

 _Everything seemed to slow as the demon vanished into the altar. Boomer trailed off, watching in shock, Raya seemed to hover in midair as she watched._

 _In spite of all the noise, there was a moment of silence as the demon sacrificed himself at his own altar. For a moment, the white lacrima glowed with blinding light, before suddenly emptying and turning transparent, like glass. "No way," Boomer gasped. "He sacrificed himself?"_

 _-[CoT]-_

"Siria, I know you have a built-in GPS, but are you sure this is the right place?" Boomer questioned, looking at his car.

Black energy crackled across it, and Siria's voice came out of the Sonic Boom. "Positive. Longitude and latitude, it checks out,"

"Just . ." Boomer looked around at the featureless plain they had been led to. The only feature was an outcropping of rock that spiked into the air. Overhead, a swirling vortex of storm clouds brewed, and one of the Sound wizard's eyes watched the sky nervously. "There's nothing here,"

Boomer had accepted a job request that specifically asked for a Sound Wizard. Naturally, Siria had accompanied him, as she essentially lived inside the Sonic Boom's systems, and of course Boomer couldn't have reached this place without either the Sonic Boom or days of walking, because, oddly enough (or so he had thought at the time), there was no public transportation to this location. But now it made sense. There was nothing here for people to want transportation to.

The job had been low-ranked and low-reward, so Boomer had been confident that he and Siria could handle it without any aid from their fellows. The fact that it requested a Sound Wizard specifically was odd, but he'd assumed it would make sense upon arrival. However, he couldn't help but wonder if the job had been a prank.

Actually, that sounded likely. Lyon from Lamia Scale was probably still sore about that humiliating defeat he'd suffered at Boomer's hands during the Grand Magic Games. This was probably his idea of payback.

"I think this job is a dud, Siria," Boomer sighed.

"Time to head home?" his adoptive daughter checked, and he nodded, swinging the door to his car open.

Both stiffened as there was a sudden rumble of thunder. The scent of ozone filled the air, and Boomer looked up to see blue lightning crackling in the heavens. He grimaced, not liking the look of the sky, and swung himself into the three-wheeler's driver's seat.

"There's a weird smell," Siria mumbled.

"Get the speaker system ready. I don't like this," Boomer warned.

A blinding flash of blue lightning suddenly cracked down from the sky, striking the rocky outcropping before them. Like a massive tentacle, the bolt reared back before striking the rock, and again, a blur of light whipping away at the rock and blackening and burning it. Above, a thunderous roar echoed from the sky. "Did you hear the one about the chicken who thought he'd killed his arch-enemy?"

Boomer blanched. "Oh no. Oh, no no no,"

The lighting bolt detached from the sky and suddenly crashed into the bonnet of the Sonic Boom, electric blue arms and legs wrapped around the car. A face with a bristling cluster of blue spikes for hair that blended seamlessly with the demon's skin was suddenly pressed against the windscreen, mad eyes bursting with magic and yellow teeth grinning wildly. "He was shocked to learn the truth!"

And then thousands of joules of electricity coursed through the Sonic Boom, crackling through the framework, burning the circuitry, surging towards Boomer - before abruptly stopping, leaving the Phoenix unharmed.

Retykraeon blinked owlishly at the wizard's lack of injury. "You should be dying, little chicken,"

"The Sonic Boom's insulated against electrical attacks," Boomer dumbly replied. "It seemed obvious," His brain was short-circuiting. Regykraeon was dead. He had to be dead. There was no reality in which Regykraeon was not dead . . except this one apparently.

Something clocked over in Boomer's mind and he filed away the shock that was numbing his system. The only thing between him and the demon was a pane of glass. It would only take a couple of seconds for Regykraeon to realise he could just punch straight through the windows and he knew the air creature could make his limbs as sharp as swords.

With a violent motion, he slammed the throttle of his car into reverse and pressed down on the accelerator. The Sonic Boom took off like a rocket, metal wheels blurring as its arrowhead-shaped form sped backwards, and Boomer wrenched the wheel sideways, throwing the vehicle into a drift that sent him spinning into a donut. Unable to withstand the centrifugal force, Regykraeon was flung off and sent into the air, catching himself a few feet off the ground.

"Who the hell is that guy?!" Siria suddenly asked through the Sonic Boom's console, and Boomer yelped. "Siria! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it was just electricity. But what is going on?" she demanded.

"I killed that guy a few years ago," her adoptive father explained. "I think he's holding a grudge,"

"Oh," was Siria's only response.

"But it's nothing to worry about. We've got everything we need to kill him right here. He's the reason I built the Sonic Boom in the first place,"

It had been years since Boomer had thought Regykraeon vanquished for good. In that time, the Sonic Boom had been retrofitted, repainted, partially rebuilt - the works. But for all that, at its core, the Sonic Boom was still a weapon designed specifically to kill Regykraeon.

"Uh, dad," Siria started.

Boomer grasped the gearstick again, sliding it from 'R' to 'W'. "Don't worry, sweetie. This is just round two of a fight I've already won," He gunned the engine, and the Sonic Boom shot forwards, kicking up dirt and pebbles from its metal wheels as it charged the Etherious.

Siria strained her throat to shout over the competing roars of the engine she was inhabiting and the thunderstorm overhead. "Dad! That lightning bolt shorted out the warp engine!"

Boomer blinked, his confidence draining away. "What?"

"You thought I walked away from our last encounter without learning anything?" Regykraeon snorted, before lancing forward and matching the Sonic Boom's charge in a game of chicken that he'd inevitably win.

Boomer gritted his teeth. "Alright. Siria, do the thing,"

"You got it! Spectral Sound Smash!" With a mechanical clank, the speakers that the car bristled with rotated and realigned themselves, pulsing with a powerful, tectonic beat that built up a white barrier of intense sound over the front of the Sonic Boom, a battering ram of music that evened the odds.

Regykraeon barely had time to widen his eyes in surprise before hitting the car and bouncing straight off as though he were made of rubber. "Cute trick. Hey, what do you call a singer who keeps running away from you?"

His voice was blocked by the sound emanating from the Sonic Boom as it span and charged him again. "Did you get a word of that?" Boomer asked. "Nope," the yokai replied.

"A hard act to follow!" Regykraeon cackled to himself, spreading his arms as though awaiting applause. ". . Tough crowd. I guess my jokes will just have to be more direct!" He darted out sideways, arcing around the Sonic Boom. "What do you call it when someone hits your head with Ethereal Electricity?!" he roared, launching a bolt of lightning towards the window, hoping to get through the glass or at least inflict more damage. "A brainstorm!"

Luckily, Boomer was already turning the magicmobile to face Regykraeon again, or it might have done some real damage. But most of the attack bounced off Siria's shield and only a portion of it bled into the car, doing no real damage.

Regykraeon shot upwards, out of range of the ground-bound battering ram. "I'm getting sick of that," he growled. "What's the worst thing a comedian can hear?" Predictably, there was no response from his opponents.

"A Deafening Silence!" And with that, the air went still. All sound was obliterated. Silence reigned.

Boomer mouthed, "What is going on?" but no one heard, not even himself.

In a flash, Regykraeon was hovering before the car, easily matching its pace while flying backwards and leering at him. "I've been preparing for this for seven years, you smug little creature! It's exactly what you did to me. You took years to get strong enough to destroy me, and I'm returning the favour!" He laughed, his voice penetrating his own spell with ease. "Isn't that hilarious?!"

Boomer tried to speak, but the constricting, suffocating silence stifled his words in his throat.

Regykraeon smirked. "What do you call someone whose only skill is making people think he's a hero?" Suddenly, he was perched on the bonnet of the Sonic Boom, and with a mighty heave he ripped the roof off the car. "A one-trick _phoney_. You haven't changed, you haven't learned anything new. Without your precious music, you're nothing,"

He flipped backwards and lifted the Sonic Boom into the air, it's wheels spinning uselessly. Boomer struggled, trying to climb out, but Regykraeon was too fast, grasping the front wheel of the three-wheeled magicmobile and ripping it out of its housing. He dismissively tossed it away, before dropping the wrecked magicmobile to the ground, effortlessly snatching up Boomer by the collar. "It looks like the joke's on you. Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to take you home, and after my friends destroy your guild and world, I'll have the rest of your life to break you in every way imaginable. After all, what did the oven say to the chicken?" the demon cackled, rising into the air and carrying Boomer with him.

"You still have a terrible sense of humour," the Phoenix spat, before blinking as he realised the silence had been lifted . . and without the Sonic Boom he wasn't strong enough to do anything about that.

Regykraeon shot him a dull look. "Get stuffed," With that, he levitated into the air, before blurring away, intending to rejoin Tartaros and put away his new toy.

Boomer was just glad that Siria had had the sense not to alert the mad demon to her existence. Now she could go back to the guild and get help. He just hoped she didn't try something dumb like coming after him alone . . although, she was Phoenix's Eye . .

"I am stuffed," he mumbled.

-[CoT]-

Meanwhile, Cube, carrying the building of Tartaros, flew towards Magnolia. The massive floating castle, on its cubic levitating rock, hovered through the air, carrying the guild of Tartaros within.

As well as three red TFEI.

"You were right," Mard Geer, de facto leader of the Dark Guild Tartaros, complimented the man standing before him who, despite appearances, was no more human than he was. "Seilah captured those two Fairies and is using her curse to force Elfman to destroy Fairy Tail. Which means, most likely, you're also right about her efforts failing,"

Clockwork, clad in his green leather armour, was stock-still, his wizened face and short, wispy beard not even twitching.

"I don't appreciate being ignored," Mard Geer declared, and a razor-sharp plant plunged into Clockwork's chest, punching straight through him, before retracting and leaving a bloody would.

Clockwork barely seemed to notice the injury that would have been fatal were he not immortal. "Hmm? Oh, apologies. I was lost in thought," he replied. "What were you saying?"

"Is attacking Fairy Tail futile, if we know the fairies will survive?" Mard Geer repeated, looking annoyed.

"Oh. Not at all. Even if the people survive, the loss of their building will be a psychological blow that will demoralise their forces," the red TFEI responded. "But it serves another purpose. I have told you of the Overmind? Need I remind you, they have all the same information that I do. They will expect to see the Fairy Tail Guild Hall destroyed with no casualties. It will lull them into a false sense of security,"

"Ah. You think they don't know that we've joined forces," Mard Geer summarised.

"I'm certain they suspect. It's not so much a matter of making them think that we aren't involved as it is ensuring that they do not know where we have deployed our forces," Clockwork clarified. "There is exactly one crucial factor we TFEI must alter in the outcome of this war, which will lead to the successful activation of FACE. Everything else is irrelevant. My strategy is to obfuscate our operations as much as possible so as to prevent the inevitable agents of the Overmind from realising what that factor is and preventing me from changing it,"

"And if you do that, and things play out as you expect, then most of us will die, but we'll win," Mard Geer nodded, accepting the outcome. Clockwork had already confirmed that he, and all the other Etherious would die in the future the TFEI knew of, but his demise would come only _after_ FACE was destroyed. If FACE was activated successfully then his survival and victory was assured. It didn't much matter to him that the majority of Zeref's Bookshelf would be wiped out by Fairy Tail. They were minions, if their demise served END's resurrection, they would all gladly perish. It didn't matter that none of the other Ten Gates of Tartaros knew this was to be their fate. The outcome was to be the same. They were like chess pieces that moved themselves, playing out a game that would end in . . . _Clockwork's victory._

Mard Geer's tongue twisted at the thought. It was petty, but part of him resented being told what to do by the alien. But he banished the notion for the umpteenth time, assuring himself that when E.N.D. rose, he would have all of eternity to find a way to kill the undying creature.

"There is, of course, the unknown variable," Clockwork frowned. "Phoenix's Eye,"

The kingly demon leaned forward on his throne. "You assured me that you could remove them from the equation,"

"I _expect_ to be able to," the red alien clarified. "The thing about Phoenix's Eye is that they have this annoying way of making things go right for them. There's some unaccountable factor about the people who wear that mark on their skin that causes things to end well for them, as though there's an unseen, divine hand guiding their every action. You can never truly be sure of success where they're involved. Nonetheless, I have taken every precaution," he assured Mard Geer.

"We'll be over Magnolia at any minute. If you're going to go, I suggest you do it," he responded, feigning disinterest.

Clockwork nodded, and, with a flash of light, he was gone.

-[CoT]-

The former Kairos blurred into existence directly outside the Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall, regarding the closed doors inquisitively. It was the middle of the day, the vast majority of the guild would either be inside the building or out of the city on a job.

"Lifehack[," he spoke solemnly, spreading his arms and manifesting a mould-coloured magic circle that closely resembled the face of a clock. "AllCreatures[Exception:TFEI][Exception:Etherious]Immobilised, DefineArea[Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall]],"

Magic power seeped outwards, bleeding into the world itself and enacting a new law of physics that, in a wave that came all at once, instantly immobilised everyone inside the building.

Clockwork pushed the doors open and took in the sight. Each and every member of Phoenix's Eye was frozen, like a statue, unable to move even a millimetre. Pierce was frozen at his table, in mid-discussion with Tyria while Sarph sat across from them. Grace and Cal were living statues, facing each other in an armchair. Blanca was frozen in the act of yelling at Lorus, whose face was fixed in dismissal. Master Feng was nursing a mug of beer, fingers wrapped like icicles around the cup. Eve, Donna and Artorias were seated together around another table, with Sif lying on Artorias' lap. Clockwork noticed with some amusement that Artorias had blinked at the exact moment that he cast his command. Unlike the others, he could not see what was going on, but on the bright side he would be spared the serious case of dryeye that his fellows would no doubt suffer from . . if he bothered to reverse his magic before the world was destroyed. He probably would, if only for the sight of his enemies fleeing for their lives before the wrath of END . . no.

Clockwork banished the thought. It was overconfidence like that which was the undoing of so many antagonists. It would be sweet and satisfying, but he had only just finished telling Mard Geer about how Phoenix's Eye had this insufferable way of winning, time and time again. If he released them to face END, they could contrive some way of eliminating the demon of their former Fairy friend, even without magic. And he could not be completely certain that they mightn't even find some way to prevent the D-eternal directive. No, it was better to . .

A thought occurred to him, and Clockwork cancelled that train of thought as well. It was moot. He had briefly failed to take into account the fact that he would die when FACE was activated. He wouldn't be lifting anything from beyond the grave. No, the wizards of Phoenix's Eye would be frozen in place forever.

His satisfaction evaporated as he saw a light brightening Artorias' table. Clockwork span in place, and before fully processing what was going on, he reacted. "Lifehack[GenerateObject:[Spell-Shattering Sigil: Solamion], DefineArea:[ClockworkRightHand]!" His reality-bending Magic twisted the air, forming an exact replica of the enchanted sword that the golden knight behind him had lost six years ago, and he thrust with it, the sword penetrating straight through Artorias' chest and lodging in the chair behind him.

An involuntary smile tugged at Clockwork's lips. Artorias was powerful, and he wasn't sure what had caused the Blood Wizard to break through his spell, but he had expected a complication and reacted accordingly.

He deserved a pat on the back for his foresight.

But with that taken care of, he straightened, looking around . . and suddenly realised that the source of the light was not, in fact, Artorias.

Eve's body shone with divine magic, and she rose into the air, one of the two remaining feathers from the Divine Caladrius attached to her sceptre crumpling and turning black as its power was exhausted. Light poured from her eyes, and the muscles in her back splintered and spread, lengthening into a pair of shining, angelic wings.

Clockwork gritted his teeth. He'd wasted his chance to prevent the fight by killing the wrong Wizard. How foolish! Now he was going to have to deal with this, wasn't he? There was some small mercy; Eve was one of the weakest members of the guild, if his information was correct. It should be a simple matter to overcome her . . and once he had he was killing each and every one of the Phoenix's Eye wizards, just to be safe.

He paused, noticing that while her wings were beating and holding her in the air, the rest of Eve's body was unmoving, her legs locked in a folded position and arms frozen in a gesture. "Still paralysed? Well, that makes things easier," With a violent motion he wrested the golden sword from Artorias' chest and held it at the ready in a clumsy stance. He wasn't proficient with a sword, but Solamion had magic-cancelling properties, an inherent Wave enchantment. It would be useful.

Instead of attacking, though, Eve twisted her body in midair in a jerking motion that seemed to accomplish nothing. He frowned as she tried again, pivoting around her waist. "What are you . ."

There was a sudden flash of light, and an all-too-familiar doorbell rang out. Clockwork cursed. Of course! Eve was a Celestial Wizard, her key ring must have been in her pocket! She had been using her body and wings to turn a key inside her pocket and summon a Celestial Spirit! He should have -

The TFEI was struck with a sudden clarity of mind. He should have realised this. He was more intelligent than this. Why hadn't he? Was there something interfering with him? Reducing his capabilities? He frowned, and focused more intently on the ambient magic . . there! Of course. The entire building hummed with the magical trace of a blue TFEI! Layers upon layers of magic that was anathema to his being, dating back decades . . no wonder he wasn't operating at full capacity. He'd suspected for a while that there was a TFEI in residence within Phoenix's Eye, but it had never been confirmed.

His musings were interrupted as a tall woman with bright pink hair, which had several roses braided into it, wearing nothing but white silk underwear, kicked him in the face.

Clockwork went tumbling to the ground - but blurred out of existence before hitting the ground, reappearing behind the new assailant and grasping her arm. "A Celestial Spirit, I take it?" he snorted, before wrenching her arm backwards with superhuman strength. There was a sickening crack, and the Spirit's arm broke in two places, leaving it limp and useless.

To her credit, the woman didn't react to the pain, but rather twisted and forced him to the ground again, where a giant rose with petals as strong as iron bloomed from the floor of the guild hall, pinning him in place. "I am Venus, the Celestial Deity Spirit of Love. You will not harm these wizards, whose love for one another has grown so strong. Not while I have anything to say about it,"

Clockwork blurred and teleported away, suddenly leaping down from the rafters and kicking her in the face, sending Venus stumbling backwards. "But you don't. Now just disappear, will you?"

Venus carefully balanced herself. "It's not me you should be worried about. Mistress, get outside," she commanded her Celestial Wizard, who had been flapping towards the door regardless. "This is going to get dicey,"

Clockwork snorted in disbelief. "You're just one Spirit. What can you do against me?"

"I am the Deity of Love. My love for all things in this world and all worlds is unparalleled," Venus declared, raising her one functional arm triumphantly. "But I have no greater love than that for my Celestial Brethren - hence my power. Are you aware of the trait shared by all Celestial Deities? We each have access to a grand spell, drawing upon the power of those who believed we were gods,"

Suddenly the false Solamion was buried in her chest. "I don't care," Clockwork eloquently informed her as she choked and collapsed to the ground, bleeding white magic, and he pulled the weapon out of her again. "That's the weakness that everyone in this world seems to share. You all have a penchant for big, dramatic speeches," he scoffed. "But my patience has run out,"

Even though Celestial Magic was draining out of her body through the gaping wound, Venus smiled. "You should have let me finish. Mine is the power of love. It is my love that lets me call another Celestial Spirit, any Celestial Spirit, to my aid. Requiem of the Beloved," she declared as her body shone white. In the instant before she vanished, a single note of pearly music burst from her throat.

There was a noise from outside the guild hall, and Clockwork looked up. "I left those doors open," he uncomprehendingly mumbled in the direction of the closed doors to the guild, before realising there was no sign of Eve. The paralysis spell only affected the inside of the guild hall, she would have regained use of her limbs when she escaped. She must have closed the doors in an effort to disguise which direction she fled in. It didn't matter. He had to assume that Venus had successfully called another Celestial Spirit to the guild's defence, which meant he had another enemy to dispatch. How irritating.

As he advanced on the door, the wizards of Phoenix's Eye frozen around him, a dry, desert wind blew in through the cracks. Clockwork ignored it and cast; "Lifehack:[AllDoorsSetStatus:[OPEN], DefineArea:[Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall],"

At his command, the doors swung open, revealing Eve, hovering like an angel, over a muscled, tanned man clad in Roman-looking armour with an entire armoury seemingly strapped to his back.

Clockwork raised an irritated eyebrow. "Who are you supposed to be?"

The Celestial Spirit spoke fast. "I am known as Mars, the Deity of War, but I am a man, merely one among many,"

"Enough with the monologues!" the red TFEI growled, launching himself forwards, Solamion in hand. But a massive pillar of marble shot up from the ground and took his attack, before falling forwards.

"I am the man who bears the standard!" Mars barked as the pillar of his Reality Marble collapsed on top of Clockwork, taking a massive chunk out of the Phoenix's Eye Guild Hall ceiling with it, sending splinters showering down and crushing the TFEI beneath several tons of marble. "Who walks at the forefront of the armies of gods and collects the spirits of all that follow him!"

The pillar exploded into dust, and Clockwork glared. "I said, I don't care!" he spat, taking in the army of spectral figures that were massing behind Mars and Eve. It was the manifestation of Mars' ultimate attack, Into The Breach, in which he resurrected the spirits of the most dedicated soldiers fallen in battle throughout all of history, and marshalled them into an army to take on his opponent one thousand to one. But an army of mice might have been an equal threat to the TFEI.

"I am the herald of the endless army! From now until the end of time, as I lead mine once more into the breach, I AM NOT ALONE!" Thousands of throats echoed the cry that Mars led, an army amassed on the outskirts of Magnolia and staring down Clockwork. Ranks surged forwards, swallowing Mars and Eve behind a hundred human shields wielding an assortment of colours, armours and weapons, each representative of various factions throughout history. It was an army made of armies, every military force living and dead in the history of Earth Land represented among Ares' ranks.

"Impressive. Really," Clockwork didn't sound impressed. "But there's something you've forgotten to take into account. Lifehack:[AllNon-LivingEntities[Exception:TFEI]Incorporeal, DefineArea:[Magnolia]]," Every last member of Mars' army faded, turning translucent and ghostly, as did their weapons and equipment. The soldiers assaulted him, but their weapons phased through as though he wasn't even there - or, rather, they weren't. Clockwork strode forwards, towards Mars and Eve, who had been revealed by the sudden absence of support.

Mars blinked in stunned disbelief. "He just cancelled Into The Breach," he murmured.

Suddenly, Clockwork lunged with Solamion, and met Mars' powerful tower shield, the soldier having barely brought it out in time. "This is futile," he snorted.

"Not quite," Mars smiled coldly, before leaping backwards. "Now!"

"As the world spins around the frozen poles, the stars shine down from the realm of the gods. May the great bird follow the celestial spheres, until it reaches the cold abyss beyond the end of the stars," Eve splayed her wings wide, building a nexus of Snow, Celestial and divine magic. "From this final cold I draw the power of gods, and -" The witch choked on her own spell as a thrown Solamion buried itself in her chest.

Clockwork sighed. "So predictable,"

"Invoke . . the eternal raging storm," Eve choked out as she crashed to the ground, blood staining her clothes, but through sheer force of will she held her magic in place and completed the incantation. ". . . Blizzard Phoenix!"

The meadow outside Phoenix's Eye erupted into a winter wonderland as a divine blizzard surged out of the wizard, spreading snow in every direction and assaulting the TFEI with a seemingly endless stream of cold power. His skin froze, icicles forming in his hair, and frost condensed around him, leaving him a frozen statue buried in a snowdrift.

Eve collapsed sideways, clutching at her chest, and Mars crouched over her protectively. "Hold on . . just hold on," he begged, understanding the futility of the situation. Even if, by some miracle, the spell had indeed rendered their attacker unable to battle, the Phoenix's Eye wizards were all immobilised. None of them would be able to help.

There was a burst of heat like a solar flare, and the ice and snow evaporated, leaving a Clockwork who looked - metaphorically and literally - _steamed_. "I'm starting to lose my patience," he growled through gritted teeth,

Mars stared at the implacable alien in horror. They needed a miracle. Nothing short of divine intervention could save them now.

But it seemed like the gods were smiling on Phoenix's Eye that day. A flash of blue light split the sky, and a thunderous sonic boom echoed through Magnolia a moment later. This was followed by a powerful wind, blowing in from the west, that carried with it shining blue particles of magic.

Clockwork span and growled, looking for the source of the unfamiliar power. "Oh, what now?!"

And then a blue meteor shot out of the sky and struck him head-on, sending Clockwork flying into the dirt. As Mars and Eve watched, the blue shape stopped dead, revealing itself to be a humanoid with a translucent blue body, gossamer-like wings spread, and a whiplike tail curved around her legs.

In a flash, Clockwork was back on his feet, staring at the newcomer in disbelief. "What? Who are you?"

The newly arrived blue TFEI flashed him a brash grin. "I am B/0297. But please, just call me Fairy Blue,"

A/N

 **A/N**

 **Cruel cliffhanger, I know. And this was a big chapter.**

 **So I never exactly made a secret of the fact that Regykraeon was going to come back this arc. Still, I hope everyone enjoyed his return! He's had seven years with nothing to do but think up jokes, every third sentence is gonna be a punch line with him this arc.**

 **Also, the debut of Clockwork's magic! I'm very proud of the fact that he literally uses life hack magic. Punny and appropriate.**

 **Look forward to next chapter, it's gonna be important! Peace!**


End file.
